My Enemy, My Friend
by K9 the First
Summary: So the Angel's don't die, they just hang around with the pilots. But hey, they can only help, right? Ha.
1. Angel Attack

**My Enemy, My Friend**

K9: The First

Neon Genesis Evangelion: GAINAX.

This idea: Meh, mine and a bunch of people's on SpaceBattles.

* * *

**4.4 Billion Years ago**

"**Okay, tell me what happened here."**

"**Not much to say really. Some ya-hoo newbie in the Trajectory Department must've misplaced a decimal or forgot to carry the one or somethin'. The Black Moon down there was supposed to go to the fourth planet in this system, but it was moving faster than it needed to be and just off course enough to miss it entirely and smack into this one. And from the footage it looked like it was a near miss to boot."**

"**Ah great. We're lucky it didn't obliterate the planet or miss it and head straight into the star. These things are expensive pieces of equipment ya know?"**

"**Yeah, but you gotta admit: It's a **_**nice**_** moon the collision made. The potassium in its crust will make for plenty of light when it's full, and the gravitational forces once it drifts off enough will make for weather patterns and tides that can only help life."**

"**That doesn't change the fact that this is supposed to be a **_**White Moon**_** planet, not a Black Moon, and you know regulations: no single planet can have both a White Moon **_**and**_** a Black moon. Remember XJ9-78-SOL? We can't have that again."**

"**Well, what're we supposed to do?"**

A sigh. **"You're **_**sure**_** that there's no way to excavate the Black Moon?"**

"**Positive. The impact embedded it too far into the planet. In fact, it seems that it skipped the first thirty-million years in its preparation process, right now it's about equal with the White Moon in fact."**

"**And its control rod?"**

"**Shot beyond repair I'm afraid."**

"**Joy. All right: Contact He'Bon and tell 'em that we got a GarOEed-108 here, and have them redesignate this as a Black Moon planet. Then deactivate the White Seed. We'll come back in a couple billion years to make sure everything is sticking, then we'll plant the instruction manual somewhere and hope that any intelligent life that evolves that finds them'll follow the directions."**

"**And then?"**

"**And then: Paper work. Three **_**cycles**_**-worth of paper work."**

"**Great. You know what I don't get? Why we bother with the manuals. Don't you think telling ignorant children with the Fruit of Knowledge about the possibility of gaining our abilities is a **_**bad idea**_**?"**

"**Oh please. Those instructions were carefully worded to let anyone who reads their contents know **_**exactly**_** how bad things would get if a White Moon-Derived entity and a Black Moon-derived entity were to meet. If they're smart they'll listen to those with more knowledge and power than themselves."**

"**And if they aren't?"**

**"…"**

* * *

**The Mariana Trench, the Challenger Deep: Present Day**

At six-point-eight miles below sea level, the Challenger Deep is the lowest point on the planet. No light reaches here, and only the hardiest of life can withstand the crushing waters.

So it comes to no surprise that the building-sized, orange iridescent egg had never been seen before by human eyes in the fifteen years it had rested here, unmoving. Until now.

Without warning, the darkness was pierced by a blinding orange light. As all life forms at this depth had no eyes none were disturbed by the suddenly brilliance. However, the rumbling and shifting of the giant egg certainly did. In minutes the smooth shape of the egg was destroyed as the now distinguishable dark form within punctured the thick tissue with a glowing pink lance.

In moments the shell was destroyed, the former embryo within absorbing it like a chick would its yolk before the red orb in its chest glowed, powering the two-hundred foot high form until the Light of its Soul solidified its chosen form. Spindly legs sank deep into the centuries old muck, lanky arms ended in a tri-symmetrical hand, an exo-rib cage covered the outer surface of its chest, and a bony white, bird-like mask formed its face.

So, I'm the first to start eh? It thought to itself. Rock on. Now to… Where's dad?

It was a valid question. What was the point of a head start if the goal wasn't to be found? The White Progenitor was supposed to be waiting for him and his siblings to come to become one with him at the pole of the planet, and yet he was nowhere to be sensed.

Well… This sucks. Now wha-

As he was expanding his Overmind to broaden his search, the creature sensed something. Lights of the Soul. _Trillions_ of them. Since the creature was able to hatch, it was obvious that one of its siblings had not achieved Complementation, which could only mean one thing.

A Black Progenitor is here too? SCORE!

A Progenitor was a Progenitor. The Black Seed would do just as well as the White Seed if the latter couldn't be found. An extension of its Soul's Light, and the dark green creature launched into the sea above, rocketing towards the surface, and triggering every AT-Field sensor in the South Pacific Area.

The Third Angel had awoken.

* * *

Shinji Ikari looked at the letter he got. The address said it was from his father. The jerk. Guy leaves his only son at the train station crying for his recently dead mother, and he expects said son to come just because he's told like some dog? NO! Didn't even bother using a full explanation of what he wanted either! Just blacked out everything on what was probably a One-Size-Fits-All generic letter and wrote "COME" on it. Well, after the disaster that was their "reunion" three years ago, Shinji Ikari wasn't going to do anything just because his father told him to! No siree! He wasn't even going to pack for at _least_ a week! Well, five days. Three. …Two and a half?

Taking a red ink pen, the boy scribbled all over the letter and tore it and all its contents to tatters. It accomplished nothing, but it sure did feel good.

Oddly, one item did in fact escape the destruction, a white piece of paper about the size of a typical photograph. With a soft grunt in frustration at not even being able to finish his tiny rampage, Shinji picked it up and flipped it over. Seeing…

_Hey Shinji! I'm going to pick you up! ;3_

_PS: Check these out!_

'_Why yes Big Boobied Lady I think I shall.'_

But wait, a portion of his mind whispered, why settle for a picture when you could go to Tokyo-3 and sneak a peek at the real deal? Clearly the woman knows nothing of the concept of 'modesty,' so maybe somehow someway you'll get to see the whole package!

But then, going to Tokyo-3 meant meeting his father again for whatever he wanted. And seriously, who would really send such scandalous photos to a minor anyway? Given Shinji's luck, this woman was probably some kind of meiko-like figure in terms of modesty and chastity, and his father just photoshopped her face to some model's figure, including it in the package to tempt him if the order didn't work. And dammit it was working.

'_Let's see… Refuse to go and see what my father wants, or go for the off chance of seeing if this big boobied woman is for real…'_ Hmmm, it was certainly a conundrum. There was dad, but on the other hand there was boobs. Dad, or boobs.

Dad.

Boobs.

Dad.

Boobs.

Dad?

Boobs?

…

Boobs. Definitely boobs. No way a young man could go wrong with boobs.

* * *

Huh. This is interesting. The Third Angel thought to himself as he gazed at the shapes along the beach, and those floating about him as he waded towards shore. To him they were no bigger proportion-wise to toys, these constructs of the Black Moon creatures. He detected no organ within them, and yet there were many Lights of the Soul, albeit extremely weak ones, inside them.

Okay, these things have a lot of Souls' Lights coming from them, but they're so weak they can barely maintain their ego-barriers and forms. How're they gonna fight me for Complementation if they can't even-

A barrage of shells from the warships and the tanks hit him in the face and body.

What the-? Stop that! He said, even as the missiles exploded against his hide, his gills and his face.

For several long minutes the assault continued as scores of tons of ordinance was lobbed at him, and the Angel simply stood there, waist deep (to him) in the ocean, taking it until they all ran out of ammo.

…Ya done? That's it? Seriously? Ya know what, screw it. Bam.

Without a movement, with barely a thought, the Angel's eyes flashed, and the landscape before him exploded. Thousand-ton ship hulls were tossed like bath toys, and tank husks cast aside like leaves in the fall.

An entire division's worth of men wiped off the face of the earth.

Yeah. See that? _That_ is what the progeny of a Seed _should_ be able to do. Now, if you'll _excuse_ me _kids_, I'm off to go_ plow your Mom_.

* * *

Shinji sat alone in the train car, swaying with the motions of the carriage and listening to his SDAT. Just looking at him, one wouldn't think he was nervous about seeing his father again. And if it weren't for the presence of his music (and a certain photo), the boy would've most likely been pacing up and down the center aisle of the car, wringing his hands and on the verge of hyperventilating. But no, with his music he could just banish the world from his mind and be at peace. And he was.

Until the train suddenly stopped.

**Attention Passengers: Due to the state of emergency issued by the Ministry of Defense, all non-military trains are to cease until further notice. If you are expecting for someone to pick you up, please be sure to inform them of the change, and move in an orderly manner to the nearest shelter. We apologize for the inconvenience.**

Stepping out of the car, Shinji noticed that there was quite literally _no one_ there. The station was completely empty, and no signs whatsoever as to where a shelter would be.

"Great. Now what am I supposed to do? Where am I any way?"

According to the map of the rail line, he was at the city of Atami, about eight miles from Tokyo-3.

"...Just my luck. Why does all this happen to me?"

To generate narrative interest in the audience, but that's not important right now.

The best course of action would be to call the number he was given, let whoever was supposed to pick him up know where he was. Thing was he had no cell phone, and only had enough loose change for one call via payphone.

You can imagine his frustration at not being able to get through "due to the state of emergency."

* * *

D'AAAWWWWW! You guys are adorable!

And indeed they were. Grey flying things no bigger than his fist that made a humming sound as they flew about. The Third Angel certainly could've ignored them, hurtled the mountain and been on his way, but from what his senses could tell his younger siblings had yet to finish their development, so he had plenty of time.

The little guys glided along their jets at what was assuredly their fastest speed in reverse, and yet the Angel was able to keep up with them at a leisurely stroll down the valley. In the cockpits of the VTOLs, the pilots were getting anxious at the gargantuan monster closing in, knowing what happened to their comrades not ten miles away on shore. All of their trigger-fingers were getting itchy, but they were all told by the very top of command to hold their fire until ordered otherwise. Then, their radios crackled, the command was given, and the hellfire was unleashed.

Dozens of white trails crossed the skies from the missile magazine pods underneath the wings of the aircraft, streaking towards the abomination at bone-jarring speeds.

N'AAAWWWWW! You guys wanna spit at me too? The Angel cooed at his assailants, leaning forward as he did so. Okay, I'll even give you an easy-D'OHCRAPTHATHURTOWOWOW!

The force of the first blast knocked the Angel back with violent speed, its brethren quickly catching up and adding their own destructive force to the attack, their blossoms of fire igniting foliage and wiping out the surrounding infrastructure.

Okay little guys… _That. Stings._

With deliberate, calculated movements, the Angel raised an arm, the bony spike at the end of its elbow glowing a malevolent magenta, before the spike, and the whole ulna attached to it, shot out from the palm and into the lead VTOL, sending it spiraling down once the Lance of Light was retracted.

Okay Moon pebbles, I'm done foolin' around here. I'm gonna become one with the Black Progenitor and that's that. I'm outta here.

With a thought, the Angel's Light of the Soul coalesced into a ring above its head, and another portion was forced _downwards_, launching the massive body into the air, to come crashing down nearly half a mile away, he never noticing that he stepped on the VTOL he downed seconds before, and under a renewed barrage, made pointless by his now raised AT-Field, he almost stepped on the tiny boy that would be his slayer in a few short hours, as well as his future guardian.

Looking up at a third barrage coming from his right, the Angel saw more planes and an over-sized missile coming straight for him.

Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhhh no.

A raised hand, and the missile almost as big as he smashed into his palm, the forward momentum and the rocket motors forcing the failed attack onward like a WWI cavalry charge against machinegun nests, with the same results. This particular missile was intended as a mostly kinetic weapon, its mass and momentum intending to cause the most damage, therefore it was mostly an empty shell, thus the Angel's fingers split the shell into tri-symmetrical pieces before the fuel tanks for the rockets exploded.

What a load of BS.

* * *

Miles above the slaughter circled a bomber, on loan from the UN. In its bomb bay was a single canister-shaped object that took up most of the available space. Its ordinance was not found in most weapons of its kind. In the global turmoil that was the six months of near total anarchy following Second Impact, new explosive compounds were developed that could produce the same yield of destructive power as even the mightiest nuclear warheads, without the long-lasting effects of radioactivity and fallout. In fact the first bomb to see use was on the ruins of Old Tokyo, effectively killing off the last remnants of the Pre-Impact government trying to limp along in the flooded city. The destruction was so absolute that the other nations flocked to the reorganized UN to sign what would become the Valentines' Day Treaty of 2001.

An N2 Mine.

"_Santa. This is North Pole. You have permission to Deliver The Toys at the following coordinates."_

Within twenty minutes, the plane was in position, the bomb bay doors were opened, and the clamps securing the mine to the plane were released with a shuddering _clank_. Slowly at first, the weapon slid backwards until it ran out of decking, a comparatively small parachute keeping it from tumbling uncontrollably through the air, then, a quarter-mile above ground, the main 'chute deployed, allowing the N2 Mine to come to rest on the ground, just to the side of the road.

"North Pole this is Santa, Delivery has been made. Repeat: Santa has made the Delivery."

* * *

Another barrage from his right. The Angel turned towards his retreating attackers to follow. Little did he know that he was being lead.

Yeah you better run ya little wusses! I swear when I get my hands on ya I'll-

The Angel then realized that he stepped on something.

Huh? What th-?

* * *

Shinji Ikari was more or less your typical teenage boy, sans the parent issues relating to both sexes of course. That meant that he often fantasized about certain aspects of the female anatomy, and what one could do with them during certain, ahem, "activities," and thus rarely avoided a chance to admire them. Barring of course times when he would've been caught.

At the moment, the boy was given a bit of a difficult decision: look at the pendant on the necklace of the woman who distractedly called herself Misato Katsuragi, or her lovely breasts that were dangling teasingly in front of him (which had turned out to be very, _very_ real).

It might be for the best that we back up a little. After they escaped the being that young Ikari dubbed "Godzilla's ticked off baby brother," Ms. Katsuragi drove until her care stated to run low on power. After which she pulled over and produced a pair of binoculars from under her seat. Then, she leaned across the car to the point of almost lying in Shinji's lap, saying something about wanting to get a better look, while at the same time, knowingly or not, putting the boy in a very… _Interesting_ position.

We good now? Good.

So Ikari was faced with a bit of a dilemma: Look at a woman's jewelry, or her bust that his nose was all but stuck in. Now, he could simply give in to his base urges, but if he was caught looking at her necklace, then the woman would presumably have a higher opinion of him, allowing her to be a bit more relaxed around him, that would presumably allow for more opportunities to take advantage of in the future.

As much as Shinji would've hated the fact being brought to his attention, in many ways he really _was_ his father's son.

It was decided then. Necklace now, boobies later. Surely fate would be kind to those that took the High Ro-

"AH CRAP! They're gonna use an N2 Mine! GET DOWN!"

And indeed Fortuna was _very_ kind. A delicious taste of Heaven…

Followed by a sucker punch of Hell.

Fate may be kind, but she's still a royal bitch.

* * *

Ohhhhhhh…. Ow. Wh-what happened? Wh-what the? Why can't I see? Am I blind? Oh Dad, I'm dead aren't I? Ah _crap!_ I shoulda gone with Sandy's idea of being a Lava thing, but _nooo!_ 'She's crazy!' we said, 'a total space-case!' we said. Well look who's laughin' now Sacky? IT SURE AIN'T YOU! I gurgeshuse-cough-cough

Ohhh, what now? Is, is that light? It is! Then that means I'm alive! WOOT! But why wasn't I-

Oh. Oh no. Oh no you guys did _not_ do what I think you did. You did _not_ go and kill my face. Now I gotta grow a whole new one! Do any of you realize how long it'll take for me to completely regrow my face and how long it'll take the old one to break off? An-Oh perfect. You fused my gills together you douchebags!

It'll take me _hours_ for me to be able to heal enough where I'm able to freakin' _move_ without piercing pain!

The Third Angel stood stock still in spite of his ranting, It would be best to expend as little energy as possible. The Fruit of Life within his chest may produce an infinite amount of energy to use, but like a faucet opened all the way, only so much could be used constantly at once.

A buzzing sound came from above. Turning his new, hidden eyes towards it, the Angel saw one of the Black Moon _things_ circling him. Tauntingly. Flitting around his head out of his reach.

STOP MOCKING ME!

A burst of energy from his eyes, and the chopper that dared to mock him was no more.

That's it! No more Mister Nice Guy! Come sundown I'm gonna crack open the Black Moon and I'll freakin kill you all!

* * *

It took over three hours before he could move so much as a hand without gripping pain, let alone his whole body. Fortunately the more he healed the quicker the process became, and within two hours the Angel was on the move.

So there she is. The Angel said, shoulders heaving with each still-pained breath. The Black Progenitor. Dad's opposite. …Let's get it on sweetheart.

A blast of light, and the surface in the center of the Black Moon-derived city erupted in light and energy. The damage done revealed that the Angel only penetrated a few dozen feet into the soil before stopping at a thick armor plate.

Damn.

Another blast. And another and another and another. The Angel paused in his attack to let the dust settle.

Did I get through? I think I got through. Okay. Let's go. …Nice and easy nowwwwwWWWWW!

The creature took a few tender steps down the face of the mountain, but his still injured ankle gave way at an incorrect angle, sending him tumbling down to the valley floor.

Ya know what? I think I'll wait a few minutes. I've got time.

* * *

Shinji was pensive yet determined as he sat in the water-no, _LCL_, whatever that meant-filled plug. At least, outwardly he was.

Inwardly he was screaming like a little girl, chanting such phrases as _"OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIEI'MGONNADIE!"_ and _"I'm still a virgin!"_ over and again in his mind. Don't laugh, you would too if you knew that you were off to fight the giant monster that you just saw take the most potent conventional weapon man had to offer to the face, and kept coming.

But it was going to be okay. He was in a Giant Robot! And his dad was there, so nothing _really_ bad was gonna happen right?

Right?

…Yeah. He was gonna die. And no one would mourn him. It's a sad commentary on one's life when one thinks such a thought, especially at the tender age of fourteen. But when one has been raised in near-negligent conditions by barely caring relatives and their teacher neighbor after being abandoned by their father, a person tends to gravitate to depressing thoughts. Which really isn't conductive to successful socialization.

A tiny tear leaked out of Shinji's eye, dispersing into the LCL without recognition. Fourteen years of no meaning, no excitement, no friends, and this was how it ends?

So be it.

* * *

Good grief if Black Moon-derived organisms aren't tiny.

Strolling through the empty city, the Angel walked towards the hole he made in the earth, ready to continue his expedition.

It was nice in a way to take a break from walking and fighting, just laying on the cool ground, looking up at all the pretty lights up in the sky. A momentary bout of melancholy struck the Child of Water as he reflected on things.

After becoming One with the Progenitor, he would be no more. All that made him would be wiped clean, a vague nothingness after death. But, his essence would be preserved in the ecosystem that would be produced in the Impact, with his species as the dominant one. Songs, if they could be called that, would be sung of their ancestral Father dying for them to know existence.

Still, in his brief life, knowing that it would be over soon, made him wish he had… A friend.

Suddenly, a square of red light shown on the street to his right. Turning to face it, the Angel saw part of the street open up, and from the depths of the Black Moon rose a giant.

Bipedal, purple and green with the face of an Oni, the titan of the Black Moon was a frightening visage to behol-

Well hello hello! Hey babe, how's it goin'? If you don't mind my sayin' so, you are _fine_, you're even makin' my Core glow baby. For real, I would seriously tap Dat Ass.

The titan's shoulders slumped as it was released from its cage, and took a single step forward.

It's a shame one of us has to kill the other to attain Complementation though, cause if I had the right equipment I would _totally_ do you. Hey I know! How about after I trounce you, you 'n' me complement with your mom together! Maybe you'll generate a derived species for mine to share the planet with. Who knows, we might even be cross-compatible. Wink wink.

No sooner had the words left his metaphorical mouth had the giant fallen flat on its face.

…So is that a no? Oh well. Either way I gotta get you outta the way. Nothing personal madam Bootylicious, it's just something that's gotta be done. Now get up, let's do this…

…You okay? …Oh come _ON!_ You mean that's it? You're an even worse fighter than the _first_ guys I met woman!

With mechanical movements, the Angel grabbed Unit-01 by the head, palm flush against its head. Then, he grabbed the titan's arm with his free hand and began to pull, squeezing the arm as he did so.

Seriously. What is it with you Black Moon things? Some of you have enough power to bring me close to the brink of death, and the rest don't have jack _squat!_ If this is what the Fruit of Knowledge has to offer, I ain't bitin'.

With a sickening crunch, the arm of the titan went limp.

See? See that? This is what I'm talking about. Dad Dammit…

Sorry Babe, hate to do this to your pretty face, but I gotta. Maybe it would've helped if you weren't so-

_BLAM!_

Lame.

_BLAM_

Lame.

_BLAM!_

Lame.

_BLAM_

Lame.

Finally, the assault was successful. The Angel's Lance of Light pierced through the back of the skull, and carried Unit-01 hundreds of feet back until it slammed into a building, the limp arm slamming onto the roof of the adjacent building. With the withdraw of the lance, Unit-01's head lulled forward, hundreds of gallons of blood firing out both ends of the wound like a jet stream.

You know, I kinda feel bad about that. Still, I like the idea of dragging her to the Black Progenitor and complimenting with the both of them. Pro'lly won't be able to breed, but hey at least she looks nice.

Suddenly, Shogoki's remaining eye blazed like phosphorous, she wrenched her jaws open, and flung her head back with an enraged roar.

With lightening quick movements she squatted down, and flung herself into a somersaulting jump at the Angel.

_WHAT THE HELL?_

Shogouki landed on the Angel's chest, her one undamaged hand clawing at the bony second face.

The Angel quickly latched onto his assailant, one hand landing on her back-side, subconsciously noting that she was, indeed, bootylicious.

Get. _Offa me bitch!_

With a mighty heave the Angel managed to fling Shogouki away, a distinctive popping sensation splaying a wave of pain on his new face.

Oh. Oh great. _Thank you_. Now I gotta grow a whole new face! Again!

But his assailant wasn't listening. Standing up from where she landed, Shogouki rejoined her assault, only to be stopped by the Angel's knee-jerk deploying of the Light of his Soul in its basic-most application: a wall.

Yeah! What now ya dumb broad? What now? Can't get ta me? Well _tough!_ You can't even get through here with that damaged arm you just healed your arm… Dang that was fast.

Uhh… Well, that doesn't mean you'll be able to get thro-! …Well. My face is red. Ummm uh, well uh…. _**BLAM!**_

OH YEAH! Take that! Point blank, full power baby! No way anyone could've survived that it was totally bada-!

Shogouki slumped forward as the blast subsided, raising her head to look the Angel square in the eye, growling like a rabid dog.

…Oh. Poopy.

Before her opponent could react, Shogouki quickly grabbed onto one of the Angel's wrists, than the other in the same hand.

Woah woah woah! Waitaminute what are you d-

And twisted in a full 180 degrees, breaking the bones.

Ow my arms!

And then kicked her opponent, sending him flying even as she held his hands.

Ow my stomach OOF-!

The Angel came to rest slumped up against a pseudo-building, and could only watch as Shogouki body slammed into him, resulting in her straddling his waist when they came to rest. Gripping the exposed portions of his rib cage, she began to pull…

Look lady, I swear I'm not into gurroooOOWWOWWWWW!

And wrenched it open, giving her not only a clearer shot at her target's core, but also a weapon in the form of a bone shard. With savage ferocity, Shogouki raised the improvised weapon above her head, and slammed the more pointed end against the Angel's core.

Nothing.

She raised the shard and stabbed the crystalline sphere again, this time producing a crack. With a sigh that almost seemed pleased, the monster rose her weapon over her head once more and pushed through the attack in earnest.

Uh oh. The Angel said, knowing _exactly_ what was happening. Woah-no lady! I ain't goin' down now! Not after all the mess your kind's put me through today!

With a leap using the last of his strength, the Angel encased Shogouki in his body, core flush with her face.

It'll take a couple days to regrow my body from this, but Shammy's not due for a couple weeks at _least!_ I'm gonna take you out if it's the last thing I d-Oh wait I just over clocked my core. And my core's damaged…

And it was true. Deep within the core, in the Fruit of Life, he could _feel_ the perpetuating spirals that produced the infinite energy that powered him beginning to wobble, the mathematically perfect curves becoming out of focus.

…I didn't think this th-

The explosion shot up to the stars above, a cross beam shooting out from the sides. The glow of the blast itself could be seen as far away as Okayama, and sensors as far away as Seoul could pick up the sound of the explosion.

The Third Angel was dead.

…Physically at least.

* * *

On the remnants of a nearby building, a tiny figure sat, watching the titan as it stood there alone on the battlefield, alone, with no movement for almost half an hour.

Then, from under the street came a bunch of humans, none any higher than Unit-01's ankle, if that. With them were cranes and large circular devices with rods as thick as Sequoia's coming out of them.

Using the cranes, the circular devices were bolted onto the knees, elbows, hips and shoulders of the giant weapon. Using another crane, humans in white were lifted up to the place where the neck and shoulders met, and a white cylinder rotated out and opened, where the human's pulled out a smaller one.

"_Hmmm…"_ That was interesting. Two organisms that became one? But then, that wasn't so odd. Wasn't Israfel two beings that could become one?

Over the next two days, no one noticed the tiny, stylized figure following the Third Child around.

* * *

Shinji lay in bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. Misato had just said that what he had done in Unit-01 was a "good, admirable thing." But... What did he do? The last thing he remembered was the Angel breaking his, Unit-01's... his, arm, the stabbing him in the eye and passing out. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the plug, watching as Unit-01, which isn't a robot _at all_, regrowing... its... Eyyyyyyeeeee...

Fetal position! _Fetal position!_

_'I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away! I wanna run away!'_

_"Oh would you grow up! You're alive Dad dammit!"_

Shinji's wide eyes suddenly regained some semblance of focus. Was that a voice he heard?

_"Hey! I'm talkin' to you kiddo!"_

Slowly, eeeeeveerrrrrrr so slowly, Shinji turned his head. And there, hovering over his shoulder, at six-inches high, was a tiny, almost baby-like copy of the Angel he had killed not days ago.

Shinji began to hyperventilate. _'Oh man! I've gone crazy! What happened when I was out? What was in that plug water? I'm gonna die! The Angel's come back from the dead and he's gonna kill me!'_

_"Oh good grief. I'm not gonna kill you! You're not gonna scream are ya?"_

"Wh-what do you want!" the boy squealed. There was really no other term for it.

_"Well, I wanted to become One with the Black Progenitor under the city since I couldn't find the White Progenitor, you know, my dad. But hey! Looks like you beat me, so you guys get the chance for complementation, congrads!"_

"...What?"

_"You know, complementation? Fight off your fellow derived species, become one with your progenitor, well_ A _progenitor, wipe out all your competition, reform the world with your kind as the dominant species? This ringing a bell? That _is _what you folks are gunning for, right?"_

Shinji swallowed, it might be best to appease this little Angel. He didn't _seem_ hostle at least. "Uh, n-not really. I've never heard of that before. W-, NERV is just fighting you Angels for survival."

The Angel put his hand to where his chin would be if he were human, seemingly in thought. _"Hmmm, that's weird. But I guess that makes sense, since you folks seem to already be on top."_

"Uh, what did you mean, anyway? By competition? Does that mean there are more of you?"

_"Pretty much._

Shinji swallowed again at the prospect of having to fight an indefinite amount of giant monsters. "Well, how many?"

The mini-Angel shrugged. _"Dunno. Ten? Twenty? When Dad got shut down by the Black Progenitor crashing into the planet, he was getting ready to spread our eggs to start off the contest. When he woke up a few years ago he just finished the job before going off the radar."_

"Years ago... You mean Second Impact? Your Dad killed half the human race!"

_"Meh, not surprised. It takes a lot of energy to sufficiently spread the eggs across the globe. Though if it makes you feel better, I only killed a couple hundred."_

"...No, that doesn't help. But, what do you want?"

_"Well, nothing much really. I lost the race, so I've got nothing better to do. Can I stick with you?"_

"Me? Why? I'm no one special."

_"Nothing special? Kid, you're the one that_ KILLED _me! That's something right there. 'Sides, you seem like a pretty cool guy."_ He held out a tiny hand. _"So what do ya say, pals?"_

For several creeping moments, Shinji just stared at the tri-symmetrical appendage. One part of his brain said that this was a bad idea, a dozen cartoon shows and movies with his uncle told him that this was 'fraternizing with the enemy' and would affect his judgment later on.

But a larger part told him that this Angel didn't seem so bad, and that if he could become friends with him, then maybe this tiny Angel could convince his siblings to stop attacking, and live side-by-side.

For the first time, on this or any other planet in the cosmos, a Black Egg derived organism's finger tip came in contact with a White Egg derived organism's palm in a gesture of friendship.

_"Cool. Name's Sachiel. They call you anything Kid?"_

"Yeah. I'm, Shinji... Shinji Ikari." the young pilot smiled to himself, something telling him that this could be the start of a great friendship, the kind of interaction with another living thing he never had before.

_"So, Shinji. Can I ask you something?"_ asked Sachiel as he settled on the boy's shoulder.

"Uh, sure. What about?"

_"That other Black Egg organism you live with, is there something wrong with her? Sick or something?"_

"Huh? Misato? What do you mean?"

The Angel gestured to his 'chest.'

_"Well, her hips are wider than they proportionally should be using you as a baseline, and she's got these two huge tumors on her front."_

Blood rushed to the teen's face, and 'other' regions.

"Uhh! A-actually, th-that's normal."

_"Really? Then does that mean YOU'RE sick?"_

"_NO!_ I'm a boy. Male. Misato's a girl. A female."

_"Male? Female? What kinda Moon-speek you usin' kid?"_

Shinji never in his life expected to ever be in a position to explain the Birds and the Bees. Especially when he never got that talk himself, he mostly just figured it out himself via his school books.

"Well, most species here can't make babies on their own. So some members of a species carry the babies to term, and the rest fertilize."

Sachiel seemed to catch on.

_"Ahhhh! Sexual Dimorphism! I see. I wonder why I didn't think of that?"_

"What do you mean? Wouldn't your kind have men and women?"

_"Naww. We would've been Semi-Asexual hermaphrodites. Gestation would've been triggered by crotch stimulation between two individuals."_

Ikari was suddenly reminded of a movie he saw part of on accident late one night when he was eleven. It was all he could do to keep from nosebleeding.

_"Say, are the tumors on_ all _'female's' fronts that big in proportion to their bodies?"_

The boy swallowed his embarrassment.

"N-no! No not always! All people look different!"

_"Huh, that's a shame, cause they look soft and warm. The perfect bed for guy's my size! Do you 'males' utilize them as pillows? Is that their evolutionary purpose?"_

"N-_no!_"

_"Then what? Aesthetics may have its place, but there's no way nature lets a Secondary Sexual Characteristic get __**that**__ big without a damn good reason."_

"Can we talk about something else?"

Meanwhile, Misato lay wide awake on the other side of the wall, listening to Shinji have a one-sided conversation with no one.

_'I wonder if I should talk to him, or Ritsuko, about this? ...Nah, not now. But if it starts getting out of hand I'm __**definitely**_ _pulling him from piloting until we get him on some meds or something.'_

* * *

Now before people start griping about quotations, I'll have you know that its intentional.

I'd like to thank EvaGeeks for their commentary on episodes one and two. Since I don't have the series (hoping for Christmas though), their analysis was invaluable in recreating the Sachiel scenes, and their commentary I was able to utilize into the scenes.


	2. The New Innocence

**The New Innocence**

**Antarctica. September 13****th****, 2000**

The land was cold, so much so that what little precipitation the continent gets was always snow, and it never melted, and the ice created in some places was so thick that no one ever walked on Terra Firma. On the surface man had constructed a small collection of large huts, hunger-like in their outside design, made to handle the harsh environs on this place, and contain the life-giving warmth.

At the moment a horrendous storm was raging, for below the icy surface, the forces of Armageddon were churning like a cauldron. A giant of bone-white flesh lay face down on the ground inside the giant sphere that was found beneath the snow and ice, a giant magenta bident impaling it through the front. Noticeable, though relatively tiny, sections of the creature's hide were missing regularly portioned pieces.

Around the beast, which had it been standing would have easily topped two-hundred and fifty feet, was constructed a massive lab complex, wires and pipes and instrument panels and the like littered the massive cavern carved out around the creature. Attached to the magenta object inserted into the giant were massive actuators, cranes and other machinery, all set and primed to go.

Without warning, alarms blared, and the machinery attached to the bident was activated, pushing it into the creature.

A pinky the size of a Greyhound Bus twitched.

Its flesh began to glow with truly stellar brilliance.

A barely visible field pulsed. For a moment the whole chamber was quiet.

Then it exploded.

* * *

**"State of emergency, state of emergency. All personnel, put on your protective gear. All workers in Level 2 and below, immediately evacuate to the upper area of Central Dogma."**

"We have to stop that luminescence! It's surpassing calculated predictions!"

"The genes that dived into Adam have already undergone physical fusion!"

**KIDS? YOU AWAKE?**

Yeah!

Uh-huh!

Yes!

Hi Daddy!

Uh-huh!

Ah!

Mm-hmm.

Let's go!

Roger!

Yuh-huh!

Com'on!

Yes!

I am!

Me too!

Hi Daddy!

**GOOD, GOOD! NOW, WHO'S READY FOR SOME ADVENTURE? WHO'S READY FOR THE RACE?**

A chorus of "Me's," "Ooh!-Ooh!s", "I am's," (and one "Hi Daddy!") answered him.

**ALL RIGHT THEN! I'LL JUST NEED TO GET TO THE SURFACE AND WE'LL BE ON OUR WAY. GET SET KIDS!**

Okay!

"All AT Fields are being released!"

"The Lance! Pull the Lance back!"

"It's no good! We can't maintain the magnetic field!"

"It's sinking in!"

And from their point of view, indeed it was, the two prongs had already been absorbed into the white giant when it stopped all on its own.

The Giant rose, the shaft of the Lance sticking out of its chest. With a thunderous series of pops and cracks, the White Seed cracked his neck, only noticing the hilt-deep lance in his chest after the fact.

**WHAT THE-? HMM… GUESS THEY CHANGED THEIR MINDS OR SOMETHING.** The Angel thought to himself with a shrug. **OH WELL. DOESN'T MATTER. NOW TO GET THIS SPLINTER OUT.**

With both hands, he grabbed the shaft and pulled. Nothing. After a moment to consider the situation, the Giant of Light shifted the Lance sideways, slowly dragging the Ancestral Race's Planeto-Formation Deactivation Rod out of himself.

Hefting the Lance in both hands, the Angel looked at it before tossing it aside.

"I don't care if it only makes a small difference! Keep the damage to an absolute minimum!"

With not a thought about the tiny screaming voices in the dark recesses of the complex, the Giant of Light spread the Counterpoint of its Soul in preparation of launching his children.

"The atomic components are breaking up at the quark level! Hurry!"

"Begin thermal dampening treatment as soon as the Doors of Guf open."

With graceful motions, the Angel turned towards the incline the humans made as they dug the Geofront, and began to climb out of the hole in the earth.

"Incredible... It started walking."

"Walking also confirmed on the surface!"

"Even if it's only for point one seconds, get it to use up as much of its Anti AT Field energy as possible!"

"The conversion system has already been set!"

"Countdown is underway!"

"The S2 Engine and the detonator are being linked! We can't stop it!"

"The wings are spreading! It's going to surface!"

**HERE WE GO!**

The dark eyes of the giant flashed, and the entire complex was obliterated, with only a few ruins of the surface buildings remaining.

And the Giant of Light climbed out of the hole he made, and walked towards what he saw as an ideal spot.

**OKAY KIDS, DO YOU REMEMBER THE RULES?**

Uhhhhh….

Nope.

'Fraid not.

Rules?

The giant gently laughed.

**DON'T WORRY, THEY AREN'T HARD. ONE: NO CHEATING. THAT MEANS NO COPYING YOUR SIBLINGS, NO GOING AFTER THOSE THAT HAVEN'T HATCHED YET, AND NO TEAM-UPS.**

**TWO: YOU CAN TAKE ANY FORM WITH ANY ABILITIES YOU WANT. BUT REMEMBER THAT THE BEST FORM ISN'T NECESSARILY THE BIGGEST OR THE STRONGEST. FURTHERMORE, THE MORE COMPLEX YOUR FORM AND ABILITIES ARE, THE LONGER IT WILL TAKE.**

**THREE: ONCE YOU DECIDE ON WHAT YOU WANT TO LOOK LIKE, YOU HAVE TO STICK WITH IT. YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE JUST BECAUSE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND AND HAD TO START OVER DO YOU?**

No sir!

**THAT'S RIGHT. NOW, OTHER THAN THAT, ANYTHING GOES. GOT IT?**

Does that mean I can be a fishy?

**HAHAHA! OH OF COURSE GAGHIEL! YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE. A FISH, A DOG, ANYTHING!**

YAAAAYYYYY!

Ah'm gonna be uh Lava mahnster!

That's dumb!

It is not!

Is so!

Ya'll are mean!

**NOW NOW! BOYS, THAT'S NOT NICE. NOW SAY YOUR SORRY TO YOUR SISTER.**

…

**SHAMSHEL? DO I NEED TO START COUNTING?**

No… I'm sorry Sandy.

**AND WHAT DO YOU SAY SANDALPHON?**

…It's okay, ah guess.

**GOOD, I'M GLAD THAT'S SETTLED. AND SANDALPHON? I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.**

Ya think so!

**OH YES, I CERTAINLY NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT. SEE THAT KIDS? YOU'LL NEED TO THINK MORE OUTSIDE OF THE BOX WITH SANDY HERE IN THE RUNNING.**

I'm gonna be da biggest and da stwongest! Jus' wike you Daddy!

**AWW, I'M FLATTERED. YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART ZERUEL. C'MER YOU! ALL OF YOU! I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU SO VERY MUCH. YOU HEAR ME? DON'T EVER FORGET THAT MY CHILDREN.**

**NOW, GET READY, I'M ABOUT TO LAUNCH YOU ALL!**

YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY! FIREWORKS!

With a mighty yell, the Giant of Light flung the eggs of his children outwards.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

And with a blast of light and energy that rivaled that of the First Impact, the Giant of Light converted almost all of his mass into energy, vaporizing the continent of Antarctica, the Anti-AT-Field required for it obliterating the Field's of every single living thing on and around the continent, save for a single fourteen-year old girl.

For hours, all that could be seen were the hundreds of tiny red lights of souls flickering about before they were absorbed into the reddening sea, above which twin shafts of light shot out from the surface, and in space four AT-Field wings could be seen splintering off from those shafts. Eventually they faded away with the Angel's body, now no bigger than a human hand, and looking very much like a large human embryo.

**NOW REMEMBER KIDS, I'LL BE RIGHT HERE! YOU HEAR ME? I'LL SEE YOU ALL VEry very soon! As soon as you hatch you come find me! I'll be rig**ht here! I promise you! I promise!

* * *

_The Present_

The Pribnow Box and the massive activation cage beyond were dark, save for a few dim working lights that only gave off enough light for someone to move around with a lower chance of stumbling over something.

In this artificial cave, a solitary man stood, gazing at the immense orange and white golem that stood hunched over in the cage, imprisoned from the waist down in red crystal, the three impulse distributary antennae of the Signal Termination Plug spread out from its back, the circling light that orbited along the circumference of the plug at the base of the antenna indicating normal functions. Had it really already been a week since Reigouki tried to reclaim the other half of her soul?

"How was Rei today?"

Though one would never know it from looking at him, Gendo was startled from his reflections at the sound of the voice. Ritsuko Akagi. Aside from the fortunately lacking paranoia that annoyed him so much in the hag, she was so much like her mother. Always trying to open him up. Why couldn't these women understand the simple fact that while he may share his bed with them, they could never hold his heart like they did his body? There was only one woman in all of existence that made his life seem worthwhile.

And _only_ one.

"You went to see her, didn't you? In the Hospital?" _Where your __**son**__ was staying?_ Being the unsaid phrase.

That was one of the few flaws Ritsuko had that her mother Naoko lacked: a desire to see him reconciled with Shinji. Impossible woman. To think that _she_ could change him into a better person. It took her months to realize that the Third Child was to be a persona non grata as much as possible if it could be done. But, it was comforting in its own way, to have her be _somewhat_ concerned about the boy she had no blood with. Her mother was pleased when he was sent away, and almost giddy when _she_ was taken. That fact alone kept him from feeling guilty about letting the First Rei overhear his thoughts on the hag. But regardless, without… _her_, he was nothing but a glorified street thug. The boy needed better than that, especially in the wake of her _absence_. It was the most difficult action he ever made, abandoning the boy like that.

_"Daddy don't go! I promise I'll be good, I _promise! _Honest! Just please don't leave me like Mommy! Pleeeeeaasssse!"_

_'I can never be the father that boy needed. Not without her. …It's better this way.'_

It was the reason for everything. All of it.

"She'll be fine. She'll be ready when it comes time to reactivate Unit-00. That's all that matters."

And indeed, it truly was. Soon, with the last of the Angels dealt with he would, like a Knight of the tales of old, save _her_, his beloved damsel most fair, from that horrible _demonic monster_. And if he couldn't, well…

If he couldn't, then like the Biblical Adam and his Eve, he too would bite of the same fruit as she, and share her doom, in the archaic sense of the word. It would be infinitely better to spend eternity enduring the tortures of Hell with his beloved better half, than the same indulging in the luxuries of Heaven without her.

"And what about your son?" Dammit woman! "Psychologically speaking, he doesn't seem totally stable, from my perspective."

_'He's still much better than if I had raised him. If the proverb about the son becoming the father is true…'_ "Let him be. If nothing else it gives us a good excuse to bring Unit-00 out of suspension."

"Then we'll move in accordance with Lt. Colonel Katsuragi's suggestion."

* * *

For ten years, Shinji Ikari had always woken up to the annoying blares of a digital alarm clock, rain or shine, seven days a week every week. Always early enough to have a small breakfast of toast and tea and still be twenty minutes early for school, and on the weekends to make it to tutoring, cello practice and have the rest of the day to study. 'A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and with those entrance exams a strong foundation is vital!' his Aunt and teacher always told him.

So it would be understandable if the boy felt weird waking up because his body decided that it had rested enough rather than because he had a veritable siren in his ear canal.

_"'Bout time you woke up. Do all Black Moon things need this much down time or what?"_

'_Ohh… It wasn't a dream.'_

"Umm… Well, not always. Some creatures never sleep, while others can sleep for over twenty hours a day."

_"…Hours? Day?"_

Shinji sighed at the perplexed expression on the ghost Angel's face. Hopefully Sachiel would be able to get some reasoning abilities as he learned more, because the prospect of explaining absolutely everything to him was… daunting, to say the least.

"They're measurements of Time. One day is equal to about the time it takes from the sun rising to when it rises again. Hours are smaller measurements, with twenty-four making up a day."

The facial expressions on the tiny Angel skewed up in thought as he counted fingers. Fortunately he seemed to understand simple math.

_"That's a long time. Why is that?"_

Scratching his head, the boy answered the best he could. "Well, I guess that just depends on activity, what they eat and how active they are and how their bodies work."

The Angel tapped his 'chin' in thought at the explanation before shrugging his shoulders. _"Meh. Whatever."_

A sudden worry came to Shinji. It was awful bright outside, what time _was_ it anyway?

"Nine-_thirty?_" He couldn't have gone to sleep later than ten passed ten, this would mean that he'd been asleep almost twelve hours! _'Why clock? Why do you betray me so? Now I'm gonna be late for-! For… Do I have school? I mean, I _did _just save the world a few days ago.'_

Walking out of the room, Shinji decided to start the day with a quick teeth brushing. He turned to the bathroom, opened the door, flicked on the light-

_"HOLY FREAKIN' CRAP!"_

-and was startled by the shout coming from Sachiel behind him.

"What?"

_"How'd you do that?"_

"…Do what?"

_"Make light! I thought Black Moon things couldn't do stuff like that!"_

_'If you think that as literally as I think you do, you're in for a surprise when you learn about bioluminescence.'_ "You mean this?"

Off.

On.

_"Yes! THAT!"_

"It's, just electricity."

_"Ele-whah?"_

"E-lec-tri-city. It's… Well, it's technology, or what powers it at least."

_"You mean, like an Organ?"_

The phrase was a little odd, but a moment thinking on it and Shinji realized that Sachiel was probably talking about the red orb in his chest.

"Umm, well, something like that, I guess, sure. Here, you try."

It was with more than a little bit of trepidation as Sachiel floated over to the light switch, pulling it down.

Off.

_"HOLY DAD I DID SOMETHING!"_

Shinji couldn't help but laugh at the reaction. Was this how explorers felt when showing primitive peoples the wonders of the Modern World? "Okay, now turn it on."

_"…"_

"You, uh, flip it up."

…On. _"HOLY DAD I DID IT AGAIN BUT BACKWARDS! …Can I try that again?"_

Shinji gestured in a 'help yourself' manner. "Go right ahead."

…Off.

…On.

_"…So __**this**__ is the power of the Fruit of Knowledge."_

Off.

On.

Off.

On.

Off. On. Off, on. Off, on, off, on, off, on. …off on off on off on off on off on off on off on off on off on off on off on off on-

_"THIS IS SO FREAKIN' AWESOME!"_

It was all Shinji could do to contain his laughter. With the amount of beer Misato downed last night, chances were that she was still in bed with a hangover, but even so a few chortles got out.

"Okay that's enough Sachiel, I have to brush my teeth!"

* * *

"Misato! You're, awake?"

And indeed she was. Dressed in the same little black dress as she had on last night, or at least something very much like it, sitting at the table nursing yet _another_ Yebisu beer, Misato Katsuragi looked as right as rain, as cheerful as ever and with no sign of a pounding headache in sight.

"Morning sleepyhead! You have a good night's sleep?"

The young Ikari simply shook his head. His guardian certainly seemed like nothing could faze her apparently.

"Okay I guess." He said, getting a glass of water and sitting down across from the older woman (and leaving Sachiel to marvel at the 'Shiny Rock that Makes Water'). "Sachiel and I were up later than I would've liked talking though."

Misato paused mid-sip, placing her can down with a look of confusion on her face. After a moment's pause it brightened up again, though it had a touch of concern mixed.

"Oh right! You're little imaginary friend I heard you talking at last night!" she said, the phantom image of the Third Angel floating above and behind her head, looking into an empty sake bottle.

_"Man, this stuff smells AWFUL!"_

"B-but he isn't…"

Misato held up a hand, silencing his explanation. "Say no more Shinji, it's okay. In the world we live in today we all need our relief-valves. I know I've got mine." She shook her half-empty can to make her point.

"And I'll admit I think you're a little old for making up people to talk to, but my philosophy in life is 'Everything in Moderation!'" Says the woman who evidently drank a bar's worth of alcohol in the three days of moving into a new apartment.

"But he's not-"

But Misato wasn't listening anymore.

"In fact, I knew a kid growing up who had an Imaginary Friend! Lessee… He was some American kid, family moved here, what was his name…? Oh right! Charles Finster, but everyone called him Chucky. Most unrulely red hair I've ever seen, wore glasses that I _swear_ went out of style in the Fifties. Anyway, he had this Imaginary pal of his: described him as this tall skinny guy, bald head with no face, wore a business suit."

"…Business suit?"

Katsuragi shrugged. "Hey, some people have a really crappy imagination. …Actually, now that I think about it, Chuck didn't seem very fond of this Tall Man. He kept yelling at him to leave him alone, cried a couple times. Poor kid kept getting teased, I really felt bad for him. Once he climbed into my room asking to spend the night, but ran out of the house an hour later, screaming that the guy was staring at him through the window, on the second floor, even though I couldn't see anything. Then one day he just vanished. Poof, gone without a trace. His family moved away later that same year after their house burned down."

Misato tapped her chin in thought. "Hmmm… I wonder what happened to him?"

_"Yeah. He's dead. I can tell."_

"ANYWAY! I digress. My point is I don't really care either way if you talk to yourself. Just keep in mind that other people are less tolerant of that kind of stuff, especially Ritsuko, who's a stickler for psychological whatsacallit. So: keep it down so others can't hear, don't pull stunts and blame it on Sa-Kamel or whatever, and no one will be the wiser. 'Kay?"

Shinji thought about insisting that _Sachiel_ was indeed _very_ real, but decided that it just really wasn't worth it. If television had taught him anything, it was that if you can see something others can't, you're either nuts, or the thing has selective visibility, and since the Angel felt there quite physically whenever he touched him, and he didn't know anything about the boy that he shouldn't, Shinji was leaning towards the later.

"Uhh… Okay."

"Good! Also, since your pal's curious…" Misato indicated that Shinji lean closer. When he complied she whispered in his ear. "I'm an E80."

_"Is this about those 'Breast' things I asked you about? What's it mean?"_

Misato giggled at the choking sounds the poor boy made, giving a naughty wink.

_'Wh-why did she just tell me that?'_

Well, it could be because, like a mouse to a cat, you're so fun to play with. Or, she has a deep, repressed urge to deflower you, as Freud would say. Or maybe she's just a shameless skank.

But Service is Service,  
No matter how slight.  
And all things are naughty,  
With just the right light.

…When did this turn into Dr. Seuss?

Misato looked at her watch as she polished off the beer. "Well, I'm about forty minutes late, but since I'm the boss when your Dad isn't around, which is pretty often, and all I ever do except during Angel attacks is paperwork, which I finished most of while you were in the hospital, I think I'll be fine for now. So: Any questions before I go?"

Shaking his head to get those-That _THAT_ out of his mind, Shinji asked one of the first things to come to his mind this morning.

"Uh, yeah. What about school?"

_"Is that the thing with fish? Boy I bet Gagy'd be thrilled to hear about this."_

He certainly would, up until the level where they took away snack time.

"Oh that! Well, today's Thursday, and I've already gotten you enrolled. Personally I don't see why bother. Considering your job I say keep you out until the Angel's are gone, then home school. But that's the order from your Dad."

Shinji looked down at the table in thought for a moment.

"That's okay. I, I think it would be nice to go to school. You know, because of… Well…"

Misato's face softened into a matronly expression, placing a hand on a clenched fist that rested on the table. Neither one noticed the tiny form of the Child of Water watching the drama unfold: One due to ignorance, the other by being caught up in the moment.

_'This boy is way to tense for someone his age.'_ she thought to herself. _'Oh Shinji. If only there were some way I could spare you this pain…'_

While true that Shinji was just her ward whom she met not even five days ago, she already cared deeply for the boy. Maybe it was just her empathetic nature. Maybe it was how she could relate to his father issues. Or perhaps it may have been an embedded desire to be a mother, awakened from a missed chance eight years ago. Regardless of reasons, the result was the same: If a random stranger were to wonder into the room, they would automatically think that they were interrupting a touching moment between a woman who, through choice or not, had become a young mother, and her son.

"It gives you something normal to latch onto after the other day. Right?"

Shinji looked up in surprise. Yes, that was _exactly_ what he was thinking, but he didn't want to say anything out of fear that he would upset Misato.

_'Misato really is a nice woman. She leads a somewhat less-than-wholesome life, but, well, at least she tries.'_

Misato smiled at the small nod she got from the boy. She removed her hand, and the moment had passed.

"Well, anyway, you'll start on Monday. That'll give you three days plus today to do whatever it is you want!" From her jacket pocket, the Operations Director pulled out a red tag.

"Make sure you keep this with you for now, so that truancy officers and the like can leave you alone and stuff."

Shinji looked at the tag, subtlety noticing that Sachiel had made himself comfortable on his shoulder without his noticing.

The tag had his picture on it, plus some information. Such as contact numbers and the apartment's address.

"What is this?"

Misato shrugged. "Eh. Think of it as your ID card until your real one gets printed. Anyway, as I said, you're free to use these next few days however you want. Walk around town to familiarize yourself with arcades and restaurants and stuff, watch TV, surf the Net (NERV pays unlimited access for both!), go swim in Lake Ashi-"

"Clean up the apartment?"

The woman stopped her list of 'Things I Would Do If I Ever Got A Day Off' at the interruption. She, and unknown to her Sachiel as well, looked around the apartment. Or rather, the stuff that _covered_ the apartment. Shinji watched as Sachiel floated over the trash that if it had a sign posted, could be considered a tourist attraction.

Misato giggled sheepishly. "Its… It's not _really_ that bad… Is it?"

Shinji simply looked her in the eye. It wasn't an accusatory look, or an "Are you a moron?" look, or even an innocent one that other Shinji Ikaris across the multiverse have given. It was simply the sort of look one gives another when the first is waiting for the other to continue their conversation.

From behind him, Sachiel found and held up a white stick that Misato didn't notice was floating in mid-air, due to looking at Shinji.

_"Hey what's this thing? It smells weird."_

Shinji didn't see what the Angel was asking about, and since Sachiel's interest was picked up by another object (this time a Car magazine), he never really would.

Misato sighed, shoulders sagging in defeat. "Okay. Okay, you win. I'd hate to have you waste the only real time off you'd have for a while on this place. You aren't OCD are you?"

_"Omni-Conscious Disciplinarian?"_

Misato thought that Shinji chuckled at her dig.

"No, not really. But you have to admit that living conditions like this are grounds for negligence charges."

"…Crap." In spite of the dig at her own expense, Katsuragi couldn't help but laugh a little. "Okay you win. I'll help out if there's any leftover when I get back tonight, about seven-ish. Is there anything you want me to get while I'm out?"

_'Some actual food ingredients other than the Instant Stuff would be nice. I like Microwave pot pies as much as the next person, but not on consecutive days.'_

But that could wait for now.

"Well, do you think you could pick up my school work?"

Misato was one her way to the door when Ikari made his request. At hearing it she stopped suddenly to catch her barings, then turned to face her ward, expression one of total shock.

"…Are you pulling my leg? You want to spend your little vacation on _homework?_"

"W-well… I figure, since I'll be missing so much, I, I might as well at least try to get some of it out of the way. …I'm sorry."

_'Uh-oh. Forgot how fragile he seems to be. Ikari you bastard, look what you did to him!'_

"Hey there, it's nothing to apologize for! Actually, you thinking like that is probably a good thing."

That touch of praise earned Misato a tiny smile from the boy, one which she gladly returned.

"Okay then. You stay put and do what you want. Pen-Pen!" A inquisitorial 'wark' came from the second fridge in the dining room. "Shinji's in charge 'til I'm back, 'kay sweetie? You do what he asks all right?"

A salutorial 'wark' was her answer. "Good boy! I'll be sure to get some kippers or something for you on the way back home if you're good!"

A celebratorial 'wark' resounded across the apartment.

Shinji looked aside to Sachiel, who was suddenly next to him. _"What's this all about? Do they have some kind of psychic link?"_ Shinji only shrugged. From what he had already seen, he was beginning to get similar thoughts.

Misato finished putting on her shoes. "All right. Shinji? I'll try to remember to swing by the school board or something to pick up your homework." She then tapped her lips thoughtfully as an idea came to her. "Or maybe I can get Makoto to do it for me? The man already practically does all my laundry… Oh well! I'll figure it out. Good-bye Shinji! See you tonight!"

"Uh, okay! Misato. Be careful!"

"I will!" and with the shut of the door she was gone.

_"She's nice."_ Sachiel noted.

"Yeah. She is."

Turning towards the pile of garbage and half-unpacked boxes strewn across the living room and kitchen/dining areas, Shinji Ikari once again wondered what he got himself into.

"Okay." He said aloud to himself. "First things first: Packing boxes. Separate them from the trash, and then move them into Misato's room, or any other room they might look more applicable."

_"Need a hand?"_

"Huh?" The boy started, looking at the floating Angel at his shoulder with surprise. "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot you were here. Anyway, uhh.. Sure. Just watch what I do for now."

_"Cool."_

Shinji picked up a box he remembered from last night that looked like it had a blouse in it. "Say, while we work, maybe you could tell me about your kind? Like, last night you mentioned Progenitors. What are those?"

* * *

**July 5****th****, 2001**

The Russian R/V _Akademik Mstislav Keldysh _bobbed on the bloody, glass-smooth seas, alone in Ground Zero of Second Impact except for the towering ivory pillars standing higher than the four-hundred foot ship was long.

"Mir 1, Mir 2 this is the _Keldysh_, do you read me? Mir 1, Mir 2 this is the _Keldysh_. Anatoly did you find anything?"

From almost ten-thousand feet below came the static-filled reply.

_"No, not yet. Are you sure that that toy the boys back home installed is working properly?"_

The man at the radio was about to reply when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Turning, the young man found himself looking square into the eyes of Vladimir Kaganovich, the man who was not only funding this expedition, but through a winding trail of majority shareholdings and dummy corporations actually _owned_ not only the _Keldysh_, but also the two submarines he carried. With his thick build, shoulder-length hair and crow-like nose, the man cut a very intimidating figure, even if he didn't come up more than five-foot even.

"K-Komrade Kaganovich!"

Vladimir ignored the techie and picked up the radio himself.

"I assure you komrade Sagalevich, while the technology is still experimental, the AT-Sensors are one-hundred percent accurate. Keep going, you're within meters of the epicenter. Your lights should be picking up the target any second now."

_"Uhh, yes sir. Of course, we'll continue our s-"_

_"Keldysh this is Mir 2! Mir 2 to Keldysh! Something is coming into our lights. I think it might be the target!"_

Vladimir leaned over to get a better look at the televisions nearby.

"Put the video from Mir 2 on." He ordered to the man in charge of the footage.

In seconds, video of the red-tinted mid-ocean water could be seen. Slowly at first, a tiny object no bigger than a man's palm faded into view as the tiny submarine's flood-lights fell on it.

"That's it all right." Vladimir said into the radio. "Well done Mir 2, proceed in collection. _Keldysh_ out."

Without another word Vladimir Kaganovich redonned his blue parka and left the room, leaving the sailors to their jobs. Walking out onto the deck and moving to the prow, Vladimir pulled out a satellite phone, an encryption device attached to where the antenna would normally go. With a smug expression on his face he punched in a long series of numbers into the phone before hitting the send button.

It rang twice before it was answered, and Vladimir didn't wait for pleasantries, much like the man on the other end wouldn't give them.

"One, it's Five."

_"I take it you found him?"_ inquired the voice of Keel Lorenz.

"Yes, we are in the process of bringing him topside as we speak."

_"Excellent."_

"Provisional SONAR scans indicate where the Lance might be."

It wasn't exactly hard, considering that the entire continent of Antarctica and the Continental Shelf it rested on had been worn down to a fine polish twenty-thousand feet deep _exactly_. The boys watching the SONAR said that it was the clearest image they had ever seen.

"Shall I begin making preparations to salvage it?"

_"Table it for the next meeting, but I think it can wait until further notice. With the retrieval of the First Angel Phase Two is complete, now to begin the next phase of our plans."_

"Oh? So soon?"

_"Yes, Two says that our facility in Nevada has already begun experimenting with the samples retrieved from GF-01. All that is required now is the Soul."_

* * *

Ten-thousand feet below the surface, the pressure nears three tons per square inch, enough to squeeze a Styrofoam cup down to the size of a thimble. Light could not even penetrate down this far, the last dregs of luminescence that wasn't made by man or beast being choked out thousands of feet above.

After the explosion almost a year ago that obliterated an entire continent and all the life on and around it, which killed even the ocean currents that once flowed into this now blood-red sea, there was nothing. It is now a dead sea, and in it nothing lived, in spite of the fact that the crimson waters could sustain even an air-breathing creature indefinitely, nothing was present.

Nothing, except for a single embryo that could have been Human, its single large eye closed, sleeping. It, no, _he_, floated in the mid-waters, sleeping, waiting for when the time was right, for someday soon any one of his children would return to him, and in reward for their diligence and strive to be the best, he would bestow upon that individual the right to spawn a race that would dominate the planet, as was his purpose.

But as the bright lights of a deep-sea submersible, one of only five capable of bearing the crushing pressures, woke him from his slumber, it was not meant to be.

Mmm… What? Wh-who's there? Children it's far too early, now how did you complete your development so soon? That's not fair to yo- Wait.. You're not my child! Who are you? What do you want?

In a panic, the embryo twitched its vestigial tail, swimming as fast as it could away from what was to him an unfeeling behemoth, seeking to devour him.

But sadly, even his fastest speed was too slow to outpace even the sluggish submarine, the roar of its propellers deafening to the tiny biomachine humanity would dub "Angel." One of the mechanical arms reached out from the titanium shell, its claw replaced with a clear glass tube attached to a box of similar materials, a vacuum attached to that as well. The whisper-soft whine of the vacuum resounded like a constant war drum to the tiny creature, the howl of a merciless predator.

Get away from me! I've done you no wrong! I know not what you want with me, but leave me in peace! I must wait for my children!

But the abomination from above, its many glowing eyes focusing solely on him, would not relent, gaining metaphorical ground slowly but surely with every passing second, heedless of the pleas from its prey.

Damn! What is this thing? Why won't it leave me alone? I've been swimming for _five minutes_ and it _still. Won't. Quit!_

Suddenly, the tiny creature found that in spite of all the effort he pushed into motion, he could not move forward. Soon after that, he found that he was _going backwards_. Looking back, the Angel saw that the monster behind him was literally inches away, that glass tube practically on his tail, the roar of water being sucked into the maw making it hard to think.

No! NO! Don't take me PLEASE! I must wait for my children! They will be looking for me here! Don't do this please! PLEASE!

But the abomination from the surface world did not heed to cries from its prey. It merely sucked him in, sealing him within the box and left him with no escape. For hours afterwards, the Angel would swim at full speed at the sides of his prison, trying to find some means of escape in spite of the impossibility. And on the whole journey back to the _Keldysh_'s home port, the Angel would just stare at nothing in the darkness.

* * *

_The Present_

Shinji panted gasping breaths, hands on his knees as he reached the door to the apartment for the third time that morning, from yet another trash run to the street and back. And looking at the still mountainous pile of trash, mostly consisting of _still more _bottles of various liquors and instant meal packages, the boy quickly figured that he was still looking at about twenty or so more trips down carrying trash, back up and repeat.

And that was just the living room. There was still the kitchen area, the hallways and Misato's room. Then again, it would be all right if he left that room alone… Right?

Looking at the clock on the wall, Shinji saw that the time was Twelve-Forty. A grumbling in Shinji's gut told him that, work or no work, food time was _now_.

_'Oh why not? It's lunch-time anyway, and I'm starved!'_ Even though Sachiel was helping, the disembodied Angel could only carry a single sack or small box at once, leaving Shinji to carry the bulk of each trip down to the incinerator or the designated garbage pick-up point.

"Let's take a break for a few minutes Sachiel," Shinji gasped out, "it's impossible to do anything in this heat."

_"Okay."_ The tiny specter said, before gesturing to the mess behind them. _"So I take it that all habitats aren't supposed to be like this?"_

Shinji looked him square in his tiny black eyes, the intensity of those baby blues enough to make a large sweatdrop appear above the Child of Water's head.

"_…No._ No they are not."

Turning away from the slightly perturbed Angel, Shinji opened the refrigerator to check on what could pass for lunch.

"Do you want anything Sachiel? What's your diet?"

_"Oh I'm good!"_ the little Angel said, patting the red org in his chest. _"The Organ in my core took care of all of the energy needs, and I don't need any food now 'cause, well, I'm sorta dead."_

Shinji looked away from the (drab) selection in the fridge to look at Sachiel, surprised at how chipper the Angel, whose face was nowhere _near_ that pliable when he was alive, was about the fact that he was dead.

Then again, he was still around, wasn't he?

Shaking his head, the boy turned back to see what was available.

_'Let's see… Hot Pockets, Toaster Strudels, Lean Cuisine? Weird, Misato doesn't really look like she needs to watch her weight… Of course, considering how much she drinks that may be _because_ of these or something. Instant ramen, instant rice, instant pudding, instant… They actually_ make _instant ice cream? How? Oh hey, there's some sushi! Nagiri octopus my favorite!'_

A check on the expiration date and a quick sniff confirmed its freshness, and Shinji opened the container, pulled out a pair of chopsticks and hunkered-down for lunch, Sachiel sitting on the backrest of the chair across from him, swinging his legs to and fro.

"So," he said around a chunk of cephalopod, "let me see if I got this right. You're an alien, and I am too?"

Sachiel shook his head, waving his hands in the negative.

_"No no no! The Progenitor's are! And there's two of them: The White Seed, our dad, who is the Fruit of Life. You know, super-powers and stuff. The offspring of a White Seed duke it out for the opportunity to become One with the Seed and recreate the biosphere of the planet with them as the dominant race. Then there's the Black Seed, who is the Fruit of Knowledge. Stuff like using 'tools,' 'science' and stuff like that. Your mom. Actually, she's the mom of_ all _life on this planet."_

"Right. And your dad was supposed to be under Antarctica… And you said the Black one was supposed to be under the city?"

_"That's about the size of it, yeah."_

"Right. And these progenitors's came from… The Ancestral Race? A group of super-beings that send these White and Black moons all over the cosmos to sprout life?"

_"Yep!"_

"So do they put one of each on a planet often?"

_"Nope. As I understand it that's never supposed to happen."_

"Why is that?"

_"Well, they're opposites. More than that they're _complimentary _opposites, that means that they'll attract each other, and if they become One with each other they'll make a being that for all intents and purposes is an Ancestral Raci-ite, and they don't want that. And you guys wouldn't want that because the Counterpoint of the Soul made would wipe out all life here."_

"Then…" Shinji asked around a mouthful of octopus and rice, "why is it that it happened here?"

Sachiel shrugged his shoulders.

_"Dunno. Kicks 'n' giggles? Some ya-hoo newbie forgot to carry the one? It's just one step on their master plan? Heck if I know. All I know is that we're both here, Dad's missing, and we've all got to become One with your ancestral mom in order to complete the race to Complementation."_

"So all of your brothers and sisters are going to be coming here?"

_"Yep. Every last one, until either they're all dead, or one of them makes it to the Black Progenitor. Whichever comes first."_

"And… There's no way you could ask them to, I don't know… _Not_ try to kill us all?"

The spectral Angel cocked his head to the side, a confused expression on his face.

_"Why? It wouldn't be fair to them to not have a go when I did just because I had my ass handed to me. Good job on that by the way-."_

Shinji rested his forehead against the palm of his hand.

_"Besides, you folks obviously want to be a part of the Race, so it's only fair that you get a fair shot at Complementation."_

"But we don't want that! From what you say, we already _have_ that!"

The Angel shrugged.

_"Well, then you're just going to have to defend your claim. Only fair."_

Shinji sighed in exasperation, rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes. It was clear that they were working on different priorities, and that there was no reasoning with the Angel.

"Well... How many others are there?"

The Angel held his 'chin' in thought for a moment, before counting on his fingers.

_"Well, other than me, there's Shamshel, Ramiel, Gaghiel, de de de de Iruel... Zeruel…. and Armisael… And that should make about fourteen of us total."_

The young pilot groaned in despair. Fourteen giant monsters. One down and talking to him that most likely no one else could see, and thirteen more to go.

_'And I'm most likely going to have to face them alone, aren't I? …Wait, what if all the other Angels haunt me?'_

It was a daunting thought. Being able to hide conversations and a relationship-maybe-friendship with _one_ ghost would be hard enough to hide. But _fourteen?_

Good luck with that kid.

* * *

In the months to come, the pile of documents concerning After Action Reports, supply billing statements, damage reports, repair estimates and the general "local governing body is mad that it's involved in a war zone, so here is a letter saying how mad they are" memos would reach truly Himalayan heights, most notably after the first battle with the Seventh Angel, and especially with the Fourteenth one. But without that frame of reference, the current stack, standing about seven inches high in three stacks, leaped about two inches from yesterday, due to both the typical backlog of the River of Endless Paperwork, and the stack of documents she needed to fill out concerning the reassignment of the Third Child's living arrangements, enrollment notices and general Foster Care papers, looked like a truely Herculean task..

Misato simply stared at the stack of tree carcasses sitting on her desk over the Styrofoam. Sipping her third cup of coffee that morning stoically, like an interrogator would a suspect in between sessions.

From inside her jacket pocket she produced a black ink pen.

Click. Click. The bronze ball-tip gleamed in the artificial light like the blade of an Ancient Greek sword, much like the ones Alexander the Great himself would have used as he rode forth from Macedonia.

And so, the second day of the First Battle of the Triplicate was about to begin. For hours, the forces under the leadership of Lt. Colonel Katsuragi the Beautiful, Defender of the Pub from the Vile forces of Foreclosure, Deflowerer of That Nerd Guy At That Part At College After too much Beer and A Dare, did battle against the Dreaded Carbon Copy Dragoons of (checks the packaging) Nekomi-Asgard Office Supplies! The Dragoons clearly had the advantage in numbers in roughly one-and-a-half reams (or about seven-hundred and fifty pages) of paper to one pen, but the brilliant strategic mind of the most beautiful Lady of War in three Kingdoms (and an Empire) clearly knew how to defeat them.

The Horrifying Acquisitions Brigade were well known for their employ of the blasphemous wizards of the Order of Doldrums, who could cast spells upon their enemies to weaken their resolve to fight. There was no way to fight or counter the spell but to take them out first, and pray that the effects would be delayed enough to let the battle continue.

Next was the Polititorum Regimental. They were well-versed in the ancient art of bull shittery, the craft of distracting the enemy with big fancy words and extra long sentences when in reality they meant nothing. In fact, they just stood there as their enemies reaped through them like a blade would grass. The Sigil of Misato Katsuragi the Merciful and Fair, Testament of Human Will, She who Survived the Judgment of Antarctica, was marked upon them all.

But alas! Reinforcements! This time of the Budgetorial Berserkers! But lo! They too were devoured by the well-trained men of She Who Is Of Tight Figure, She Of Men's Dreams and Women's Ire! The battle was bloody. The battle was noble. The battle was…

No where _near_ as interesting as it sounds.

It's just paperwork people.

Misato finished _yet another_ signature on _yet another_ document. Her hand was sore, her arms seemed to be moving on their own accord, and she was getting hungry.

"Ffffooooooooooduh…" she moaned as she watched her arms pick up another document and place the requisite signature on the requisite line.

_Thunk!_ A thick packet of papers slammed onto the desk, jolting the pens in their holder, rippling the now cold coffee in its mug.

For what seemed like minutes, Misato sat frozen, her eyes twitching. With creaking movements, the Operations Director of NERV tilted her head up at the inhuman _fiend_ who would _dare_ add to her workload. Lesser men would quake under that gaze, lesser men _have_…

Doctor Akagi just looked into those murderous chocolate browns with wicked amusement.

"How goes The War commander?"

"Much better without more slammed on top of it."

The Head of Project E rolled her eyes.

"Relax Misato, you aren't going to do any of it. That's the homework for the Third Child you asked Makoto to get. He stood outside your door for thirty minutes trying to psyche himself up to enter your office. Evidently he knew you'd react badly to more papers put on your desk."

It was with a little surprise that Misato looked closer at the stack. It was just as her old roomie said: Middle school homework. …Though the work load looked to her like stuff she did in her senior year of High School. Damn education types, forcing kids to do harder and harder stuff each year…

"Also," Ritsuko continued, "since I figured you would try to get as much out of the way as you could before taking a three hour break, here."

From her pocket the scientist pulled out half of a seran-wrapped turkey, chicken and lettuce sandwich.

"A little something from the Caf. I hope you're hun-."

Before she could finish, Misato reached across the desk and ripped the foodstuff from her friend's hand, the plastic wrapping ripped off just barely in time for the sandwich to be exposed to the all-consuming maw of a hungry woman.

The sitting woman inhaled the sandwich in three bites, and spend the next three minutes trying to both chew and keep the precious crumbs from falling out, the meal swallowed in small sections. Finally, with a sigh of satisfaction Katsuragi patted her no-longer growling stomach.

"Thanks Rits, I needed that in the worst way."

"So I gathered, from the way you were re-living Finals Week." Her old friend replied with a smirk. "So. What do you think of the Third Child so far?"

_'Well, he talks to himself for one.'_ Misato thought to herself. But as she told the boy earlier, Ritsuko would make a big deal out of it for the dumbest reasons, but so long as he kept it down she wouldn't.

"Eh, quiet mostly. Pen-Pen surprised him in the bath evidently." She snorted. "That'll make for a great story later! Anyway, in case you didn't notice, Shinji himself requested that I get him his homework, so that he could get it done before starting classes. Big waste of quality vacation time if you ask me, but he seems to at least have his priorities straight in regards to schooling.

"Of course, it's only been about a day, so I can't really say much for now. Come back in a couple weeks when I've got my formal report."

Ritsuko nodded. "All right… Also, before I forget: Be sure to bring Shinji in tomorrow for a plugsuit fitting and his first synchronization test."

Sitting up straight, Misato arced her back and popped her vertebrae. "Sure, no problem."

* * *

**September 3****rd****, 2001**

The room that the Angel found himself in was, from what he could see from inside the Tupperware container, sterile and white. Its familiarity would've been comforting if it weren't for the knowledge of how he got there. After the weeks in that glass box, he was transported to this room and placed in a box of plastic. The whole way here he had tried to free himself, but after launching his children his facilities were all but gone, his AT-Field only strong enough to maintain his form.

For almost a day he was left alone in the empty room, pondering what was to become of him, when five men walked in, Vladimir among them.

"Here he is gentlemen, Adam, the First Angel. I assure you that we are free to talk about everything here in this room."

Please! I _beg_ you to let me go!

"So, this is Adam." said the third man to enter, his judgmental eyes glaring at the flittering embryo as he polished his tiny spectacles with a yellow handkerchief. "Not much to look at, for the being that killed three-billion humans."

Who?

"He _is_ a deceptively cute little bugger, isn't he?" said the man coming right behind him, his Oxford accent identifying his Alma Mater as he tapped the box.

The tiny Angel winced in pain as the shockwaves bombarded him.

"I would be careful about doing that Nigel," Vladimir warned. "We still aren't completely certain of the First Angel's abilities in this form."

The mustachioed number two man in their little group, dressed in his green tweed suit, stepped up to the box to look at the Angel himself

"I wouldn't worry so much Vlad. The Scrolls said that after laying the eggs, the White Seed would lay dormant. Right how Adam is no more dangerous than your typical goldfish."

"The scrolls also said that the joining of anything of Adam and anything of Lilith would result in the creation of a being like the First Ancestral Race. Instead, the insertion of Lilith-derived DNA woke up Adam and killed at least three-_billion_ people, and costing hundreds of trillions of dollars in damage."

Who is this Adam you speak of? I have no name.

"Those would be acceptable; paltry loses Five, on the road towards godhood." The room became graveyard silent as the last man entered the room and shut the door. With an iron cold voice, the man spoke with only a hint of an accent native to the Fatherland. "Clearly we misinterpreted what the Scroll was talking about. Evidently in order for an Impact event with the desired outcome, Adam must be merged with Lilith herself."

Three, the first guest to speak, snorted. "So Adam's first wife is going to need to shut up and spread them eh? That shouldn't be too hard, now that we've found her."

The other men in the room aside from the last showed varying levels of amusement at the allusion, ranging from a smirk to a chilled laughter.

"Indeed."

The fifth man in the group walked up to the box in total silence. Carrying the weight of his rapidly weakening body on an ivory cane, an old family heirloom, the man leaned down to look Adam square in the eye. The Angel saw nothing but his reflection in this man's black, wrap-around glasses, hiding his degenerating eyes. The Angel looked into the abyss for only a brief second before swimming to the furthest corner of the box, curling up and closing his single eye in fear.

The man in green laughed heartily. "Bully Lorenz! You scared the little guy, good show!"

The stern man stood up straight, his eyes never leaving the quivering form of the tiny Angel, codenamed Adam.

"Indeed Two. Now, Four, you were saying something about the samples?"

The British man straightened his red tie, straight to business. "Ahem, yes. The genetic materials collected from Adam have all been successfully delivered to all of the participating GEHIRN bases, with a dozen others waiting for their respective facilities to be completed, or to be put on ice. Six's daughter should have a proof of concept for an Anti-Angel weapons system, codename: Evangelion, within the next three years, sooner if current projections hold true."

"Excellent, a full twenty months ahead of schedule if not more. And the Tabris Project?"

The American, Two, cleared his throat and stood straight.

"The Genome has been completed. Your DNA and that of Adam's has successfully been integrated, with no signs of rejection detected. The injection into the donor ovum is scheduled next week."

"Excellent. Three? What news of the development of Lilith's Moon?"

The bespectacled Frenchman looked to the head of their organization. "Our agents say that excavation is right on schedule, if over budget, and the plans for Dogma, Central Dogma and Terminal Dogma are all approved and awaiting for the completion of the Geofront."

"Vunderbar. Everything is going as this organization has planned from the beginning. Five, as soon as the soul is extracted from Adam, his body is no longer of any use to us until the other Angels are dealt with. Freeze him. This meeting is adjourned."

Without another word, Kiel Lorenz turned on a heel and left the room, the other members of the Inner Circle of the SEELE Council following him. Moments later, two men entered, picking up the box containing the White Seed and carrying him to another room, the forty below zero temperature making the breath of the men visible as the air vapor crystallized. Placing the box on a shelf, they turned to leave.

"All right, while this thing is freezing, contact the Meta-Bio boys to get their equipment ready, and I'll call the guys down in Cryonics to get the dry ice prepped."

"On it."

What? You, you're just going to leave me here? Why did you bring me here in the first place? To what end have you abducted me?

As the minutes ticked by, a layer of ice formed on the top and sides of the box, expanding downwards and inwards as it went, forcing the Angel into an ever shrinking space, its vitals slowing, blackness growing along the edges of its vision.

Please, someone, _anyone_, please let me go. Let me go back… My children will be looking for me…

Take me back, I promised them that I would be there for them. I promised them that I'd wait…

I promised them…

I-

I promised, I…

Prr_rrrooommmiiisssed…_

* * *

Adam is the BEST. DAD. EVER.

Nagiri is a type of sushi where the meat of the fish is put on top of a rectangle of rice, sometimes with a strip of seaweed holding it together. Octopus and Squid are a chewy meat.

So, what did you think of the SEELE Council? What a bunch of douches right? In case you didn't catch it, these are the same guys seen in the Instrumentality Committee meeting with Gendo in Episode two, and I ID'd them by their color, if you look close enough. Believe it or not they have canon countries of origins. Again, I'd like to thank EvaGeeks for their Fanon names:

Blue-Russia-"Vladimir.  
Yellow-France-"Pierre."  
Red-UK-"Nigel"  
Green-US-"Theodore/Teddy." Getit? 'Cause he looks like an Evil TR. DUR-HERR!

Using the same logic, I couldn't resist giving him some of Teddy's personality, as exemplified by his use of the word "bully," an extinct slang term that has been out of favor by at _least_ 100 years.

Anyway, they all have fanon last names as well, all of them after WWII warships of their respective countries of course, but I couldn't get to that info when I got to the meeting scene at the end.

Also, for the Second Impact scene I copy 'n' pasted the human dialogue straight from the translation provided by Reichu on the EvaGeek's Eva Commentary site. I highly recommend looking through it.

Also, I mentioned "Six's Daughter," and thereby implied SEELE Six. As many of us know, Yui got involved in SEELE's plans, and thus dragged Gendo into it as well, because she was the daughter of a high ranking SEELE member according to Canon, though we don't know which one. I chose to have her be the daughter of SEELE 06 as a shout out/tribute to Gregg Landsman's Katsuhito Ikari and _Nobody Dies_. Read it, it'll be the most influential Eva fic for years to come I can tell.

And while the idea of Naoko Akagi being the soul of Unit-00 is fun and makes for cool ideas: No. Bunk.


	3. My Date with Doctor Ritsuko Akagi

**My Date With Doctor Ritsuko Akagi**

**August 9****th****, 2002. The Lorenz Family Estate, Berlin.**

Sophie Dreider was a lovely woman in her mid-twenties, lithe of figure, a face whose features were in such a set as to be reminiscent of a cherub's, and above all very intelligent. In any other circumstances she would have been well on her way to a successful career, where she would have flown to exotic places for the weekend to discuss mergers with the economic movers and shakers of the world over brunch, or if she so chose she could have forsworn such a life to be a homemaker, with a handsome husband and their precious children. But those circumstances were not to be. The Dreider family had been in the service of the Lorenz family since before the Unification Era, where the land and peoples that would someday make modern day Germany were nothing more than separated Germanic States.

Kiel Lorenz had always scared the woman, even as a small girl. The man always looked down on everyone with the same look of contempt. Well, except for when he was in public of course, where he was a well known philanthropist, donating huge sums of money to charities, attending and organizing missions to help War Orphans before _and_ after Second Impact, before his body's degenerative disease grew too advanced that is. He was the Chairman for the UN's Human Instrumentality Committee, an organization focused on the advancement of Human culture and spreading peace and tolerance among all the nations of earth (technically not a lie), and was almost always smiling for the cameras.

But behind closed doors, far away from the camera's lights, he was as cold as ice, with always that same condescending expression on his face, with no word of gratitude that felt sincere. The man kept odd hours and she often overheard him speak on the phone of things she didn't understand, involving Angels, and Lances and Moons. It was for these reasons that mother often whispered about how he never found a wife, and what a shame it was. Of course, the idea of Master Lorenz having children, let alone the kind of woman that would tolerate such a man, scared her, and it certainly seemed that such a woman didn't exist.

Until last december, when Master Lorenz came home from a business trip in America, _with a baby boy_, that he claimed to be his _son and heir_. Looking at the old family portraits, the boy, that he said was named Kaworu Nagisa, certainly _looked_ an awful lot like a young Kiel Lorenz, enough that his birth certificate, and the death certificate of his mother, were almost superfluous. He then gave the child to her and said that the baby's education was now her responsibility.

Grandfather, to say nothing of the Lorenz family now passed, must have been rolling in his grave at the idea of one of the Lorenz family not only having a mixed-race child out of wedlock, but that an _illegitimate child_ would be heir. Fortunately it wasn't a hundred years ago, or the social outcry and scandal would be enough to force the whole family to move out of the country, possibly even Europe.

But still, what sort of woman gave herself to a man like Lorenz? And why should he care about their child? Social service had always been a Public Relations thing for him, and even if this child played into that, shouldn't he have had half of the news agencies across Europe and beyond here, announcing this latest act of kindness? But her job was to maintain the estate and do as she was asked, and so she raised the odd little Kaworu as she was told.

And the boy _was_ odd. His mastery of motor skills took almost twice as long as other children, almost as though his spirit was even more unused to his body than the usual child. And yet, Kaworu's retention and cognitive development was the complete _opposite_, taking huge leaps, to the point where the baby at only five-months old was able to conceptualize the goals of toys and puzzles intended for children three-times his age.

But the three most unnerving things about the child were one: his unusually fast growth, where the child had the body of a two-year old, while when she first got him he couldn't have been more than six weeks old, no matter what the date was on his birth certificate was, two: the child's obsession with the _Ode to Joy_, ever since she first played the piece for him on the flute, he was taken with the Magnum of Beethoven's Magnum Opus, listening to recordings on CD over and over and over again for hours.

And three: his blank expression. Normal children were repeating expressions they saw from adults from a few weeks old, and even blind children were able to make them on their own on an instinctive level. And yet Kaworu's face had not ever made a single expression. Again, it was almost as if his very soul was not used to the functions of his body.

"Sophie. Enter."

With an audible swallow, Sophie took little Kaworu by the hand, and lead him into the main drawing room, currently serving as a meeting room for the HIC.

The chamber was a size that one could call "cozy," with enough room for seven chairs and a piano, the latter Kiel Lorenz had removed in 1980 to donate to charity.

Currently, only five of those chairs were in use, one for each of the committee members, sitting in the following manner in a counter-clockwise fashion: Master Lorenz, Chairman and representative of Germany, the American representative, and the representatives of France, the UK and Russia. Arranged in an open circle, it was clear that she was intended to bring the boy to the middle, facing his father.

"Thank you." The man of ice said. "You may go."

The young woman didn't want to leave the boy amongst the old men. Unnerving though he may have been, these men supposedly in charge of helping plot out the continued peace among the nations in the wake of Second Impact had always made her uncomfortable.

But still, the master of the house gave her a command and it was her duty to fulfill it. And so with a small curtsy, the maid walked out of the room as fast as propriety would allow, with a little more speed than that when she felt leering eyes following her hind quarters towards the end.

_'Master Lorenz… what do you have planned for that boy?'_

* * *

At the resounding _click_ of the door's ancient catch bar sliding into place, Pierre Bretagne turned around to face the Chairman.

"Lorenz? Is that the little girl that was serving coffee the last time we met here, twelve years ago?"

Kiel Lorenz never looked away from the expressionless eyes of the grey-haired youth before him.

"Yes Three. And no, you may not."

The Yellow member of the SEELE Inner Circle looked back at the doors, adjusting his spectacles as he did so with a somewhat disappointed look on his countenance.

"Hmmm, a pity. She is… _Exquisite_."

"Focus. We have more pressing concerns at the moment."

At the subtle hint, Three turned back towards the boy in the middle, along with the rest of the Inner Circle. It was a visual that would be repeated many times in the years to come: A grey-haired, red-eyed boy, standing alone in the middle of a circle. At first of five men, and later, as The Scenario fell into place, of twelve black holographic monoliths.

The boy stood there.

From an inside pocket of the jacket currently draped over the back of his chair, Kiel produced a black tape player. From the tilt of his head and the focus he put on the object, it was clear that Kaworu was very interested in what Lorenz had.

"Now, Kaworu. What do you remember about the Angels? The Progeny of Adam?"

The boy looked between Kiel and the player in his hand and back many times, the twitches in his brow and lips blazingly clear to Lorenz's observant, though fading, eyes that he was desperately trying to think of something. Anything.

Kiel played the tape.

For a few minutes, the movement leading up to the Ode played. The miniscule spreading of the eyelids around the eyeballs, the slight dilating of the pupils, all indicating that the child was enthralled by the music. As the Ode began to play, the child swallowed, leaning forward just a touch as though to try to get a better listen.

Then, just as the booming, emotionally charged reprise that made the Ode so famous was about to play, with the full orchestra and chorus playing-

Kiel Lorenz stopped the tape.

"Waah!" The boy cried out, taking three steps and reaching out with his tiny hands, making crying noises all the while, as though in great emotional, perhaps even _physical_, pain.

In response, Lorenz simple leaned back in the chair, crossed his arms, and stared at the child apathetically through the black lenses of his glasses.

"What do you remember about the Angels. The progeny of Adam."

The boy was an unnerving sight: he made the sounds of a child either on the verge of a temper tantrum, or moments after a bee sting, and yet looking at him the child made no show of it, aside from the slightest trembling of the lips, and the tears running down his face.

With a visibly straining effort, the child spoke his first words. For most children, their first words are "Mama," or "Dada," or their closest approximation of "Baba" for 'bottle' in their household's native language. Or, as more than one humorist has noted, "no." But not this child, his first words…

Were names.

"Shhhhhuh- Shhhhhuhhhah… Shhak. …Shak-em. Shhhhakkkkyeml. Ssssah Sssssaaaaaahhhhhh… Saak. Sak. Saqui. Saky. Saki… Sachiiiiiiiiel. Sachiel. Shhhhhah Shhahmmm… Shammmmel. Shamshhhh. Shamshel. Rrrrrrrrrraaawwwwwwww… Rrrrammmmy. Raaamyyyy… Ramiiiiiel. Ramiel."

And it went on from there, until all of the progeny were named as best as the vessel of Adam could manage.

* * *

_The Present_

It was amazing how uniform someone could make the hallways of a military complex. The same shade of paint, the same intensity of lighting, the same format of the letters and numbers. Even if they _weren't_ being lead by Katsuragi, Shinji and Sachiel would still have sworn that they were going in circles.

_"Sooo… If you two starve to death, you think that they'll find your bodies before or after you start to stink?"_

_'__**Thank you**__,'_ the boy thought to himself,_ 'as if the past week __**hasn't**__ given me enough to be freaked out about.'_

This was the norm that Shinji and Sachiel had crafted over the past two or so days: Whenever Misato was around and likely able to hear his side of the conversation, Shinji had to weather Sachiel's snide and snarky commentary on everything he could see, and on his conversations with Misato. Even after it was explained to him that Misato _could not_ see or hear him, and how bad it would look if the boy seemed to be talking to nothing but air, the disembodied spirit still insisted on placing Shinji right in the middle of two different conversations.

The Angel's amused expressions Shinji kept seeing on his face whenever he started to slip seemed to indicate that Sachiel was _most_ amused by the situation.

"So, uh, Mistato…"

"Yes Shinji?"

_'Do you know where we're going?'_ "Where are we going?"

"Down to Section One's main labs. There you'll be fitted for a plugsuit, and Ritsuko and Ibuki'll get you started on a whole bunch of tests."

"Tests?" The young Ikari didn't like the sound of "tests" in the context of a military and/or scientific organization.

_"Is that where they stick a rod up your crapper to see if it makes you happy? I mean, _plugsuit_, makes it sound just a liii~iiitle suspicious."_

Shinji tried not to react to the remark, honest. But really there's only so much a person can keep silent about.

He was only _just_ able to return his hands to where they were before he reflexively covered his butt before Misato turned to see what the noise was about.

"You okay?"

Ignoring the curled up Angel to the right of his right ear, _'Yeah yeah. Yuk it up you string bean…'_ the boy coughed, tapping his fist against his sternum. "Yeah, sure. Just, you know, I swallowed and it went down the wrong pipe you know?"

"Uhh… Sure. Weirdest coughs I ever heard though."

Shinji laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Ohh-hohoho, you should've heard my teacher whenever we had spring cleaning. The man sounded like an old car turning over. Eh-heh-heh. Ehhh."

It was only a _partial_ lie. The man assigned to care for him defiantly had a nasty case of Hay Fever, and whenever he went up to the Attic to take care of cleaning out, he had coughing fits so bad the boy at first was worried about his health. However, his coughs were as normal sounding as anyone else's. …If a spasm of the diaphragm forcing air through clenched vocal cords could ever be categorized as "normal."

Still, his guardian _seemed_ to buy it.

"Yeah… I guess there's always that one person you know who's like that, isn't there?" With a laugh, she clasped the boy on the back and guided him down a right turn at an intersection. "I knew a girl in my Math class who every day, I swear like clockwork, gave out a string of sneezes as long as your arm, with absolutely [i]_no_[/i] gaps in the middle, twenty, thirty times in a row. She sounded like a pneumatic gun firing off!"

"Is… That so?"

"Uh-yep! Our teacher even got into the habit of giving a pause in mid-sentence at the same time too, even when she was absent! Oh, here we are."

_**NERV: SECTION 01: SCIENCE DEVISION: PROJECT E**_

Gee, I wonder what's behind _this_ door, dear readers?

A swipe of her security card, and Misato lead Shinji through the slowly opening doors to reveal Science. _Glorious SCIENCE!_ In the form of a bunch of computer banks and even more corridors, this time with helpfully labeled doors as to what the labs behind them specialized in.

Not all that exciting really.

"Let's see…" Holding up her Handy-Dandy Map (a different one from when she got them lost in NERV during Sachiel's attack), Misato was quick to get her bearings, due in no small part to the fact that the Sections of the Geofront Pyramid were _infinitely_ less complex and confusing in design than Central Dogma below.

"This way!" grabbing his hand, the purplette lead Shinji down one of the two hallways they were presented, not stopping until she reached the door that the boy noted was circled on her map.

"Ritsky! We're here!"

The bottle blonde looked up from her clipboard, cigarette smoke wafting from the cancer stick in her mouth. The ash tray, Shinji noted, seemed to have a half-dozen packs worth of cigarette butts in it.

_"Holy __**CRAP!**__ Look at all the crap she's been pumping right into her bloodstream! You mean to tell me you humans ingest poisons and carcinogens on a regular basis? Humans are totally badass!"_

"…" was all Shinji could really say to that.

"Well well, look who's-" she looked at her watch, "only three minutes late today. Congratulations Misato: A new record since your employment here."

Katsuragi put on a cheerful face as she waved dismissively at her old College Roommate.

"Oh-ho-ho Ritsuko, you are _such_ a kidder! Ahahahahabiteme. _Anyway_, Shinji, you remember Ritsuko right?"

_'Ah yes, the lady who walked into the elevator wearing nothing but a lab coat and a bathing suit. Indeed, I remember those legs quite well thank you very much.'_ "Yes ma'am."

"So, when are you going to be done with your new meat toy Doc?"

_"Wait, meat toy? That sounds rather promising for you Shinji…"_

'_Shut. Up!'_

The locomotive-I mean-Doctor Akagi, rolled her eyes. "Really Misato, must you always be so unprofessional?"

"All work and no play Ritsky, and work and no play."

"…Of course. Anyway, to answer your question: I'm not sure. We have to get multiple _exacting_ measurements from multiple angles and set to different positions that the pilot is expected to be in, which could take two hours at the quickest if Shinji here can pull off whatever magic Rei does, but will most likely take longer. Then we have to do multiple deep-cerebral scans to get a base-line on mental contaminants, which will certainly take forever, and then there's the sync tests needed to calibrate the neural mapping-signature match-up between Shinji and Unit-01. So… I'd say we are looking at a fourteen-hour day here, figuring in a thirty-minute lunch break and an hour's worth of fifteen-minuters."

Shinji blanched at the figure. "Fourteen _hours?_ Doctor, isn't that a little much?"

Akagi took a drag from her mug of straight-black coffee (every office worker's friend), completely straight faced in the midst of even Misato's surprise.

"I know, I know, it's a long time I won't lie. However, it's only for today, and once you start your synchronization tests you'll catch on quick, it's not that hard. Once the calibration's taken care of the average sync-test lasts only… about forty minutes tops. And trust me, you'll want that plugsuit properly fitted out. Any misaligned wires or pieces and you could wind up with a potentially life-threatening puncture wound that isn't coming from your Eva's sympathetic nervous system link."

"Oh. Well… Okay then."

Misato squeezed Shinji's shoulder, kneeling down so that they were eye-level.

"Don't worry kiddo. Ritsuko's an old friend of mine, trust me when I say that she'll take care of you. Just do as she says and try not to tick her off and you'll be golden. 'Kay?"

"Umm, Okay Misato."

"Good! I'll see you tonight! I'll get take-out, how about that? I don't know about you but I think I'm in the mood for Mexican!"

"Uh, sure, that's fine. Go right ahead."

With a huge smile on her face, Misato Katsuragi left the small office. Day Three of the Battle of the Triplicate was about to commence.

The latching of the blast door as his guardian left seemed a lot more threatening than one would think.

"Okay Shinji," Ritsuko said as she slipped on her glasses, picking up the inter-office phone from its cradle "just let me call up Maya to let her know we're coming so that she can go ahead and get the equipment warmed up, then you'll come with me."

"Okay."

* * *

_"Follow the Soot-covered Lungs!  
__Follow the Soot-covered Lungs!  
__Follow! Follow! Follow! Follow!  
__Follow the Soot-covered Lungs!"_

_'You know what? I think I _knew _that letting Sachiel watch that old American movie was a bad idea. …It[/i] _is _[i]kinda funny though. Because I suspect that it just might be true.'_

"So. How's living with Misato?"

From the start Shinji gave, it was clear that the boy was in his own little world at the time. So much like his father.

"I asked how you were holding up as Misato's roommate." Ritsuko repeated as they walked down the empty hallway, the sounds of their footfalls the only noises to be heard.

"Oh. Uhh, well… She's a nice person, but she's, well… I'd say that she's a little…"

"Immature? Messy? Just shy of being considered related to a Sloth?"

From the warm smile she offered, it was obvious that she knew _precisely_ what the boy had been subjected to the other night.

"Uhh, well, you see… That is…"

"Don't worry, you can say it. If left unsupervised she's a total slob. Believe it or not she was even _worse_ in college. Ugh, if you saw our dorm I'm certain even the least OCD person would've freaked. But then, the small size probably made it look worse than it really was. Optical illusions," she said, with a laugh and a nostalgic headshake, "nature's slight-of-hand. Fortunately, she was able to keep her mess on _her_ side of the room. It was quite remarkable looking back, how such an incarnation of Chaos could remain contained for five years."

Shinji couldn't really say anything in response to such a vivid description. If what he and Sachiel cleaned up just yesterday was to be used as a base of comparison, Misato's old room must have been… A change of topic was needed.

"Umm… Doctor Akagi?"

The young (considering her profession) woman turned to the boy, removing herself from the realm of nostalgia.

"Yes Shinji?"

"Just what _is_ a… plugsuit."

Akagi looked up at the passing ceiling as they walked, trying to think of how to best summarize the complex mechanics of sync-rations, impulse mapping and contact surfaces.

"Hmmm… Well, you remember that headband we had you wear as we put you in the plug to fight the Angel earlier this week? The one with those two briquettes that went near your temples?"

_'What does that have to do with this?'_ "Yeah…"

"Those are the A10 connectors, they pick up signals in the brain, more specifically from the A10 centers of the brain. It is in this bundle of nerves that the emotions we feel that are associated with the connections to other people originates. It is those signals that are used to move the Eva."

"'Connections to other people'?" Something clicked in his mind, and Shinji looked up at the scientist with surprise. "Do you mean to tell me that the Eva is powered by _LOVE?_"

_"No no no, if it was, you'd be getting laid all the time."_

'_I think you might be getting confused with some kind of board game Sachiel.'_ Not that Shinji would know of such a game, _naturally_.

Ritsuko laughed out loud at the accusation.

"Oh my! Well, that's a bit of a Romantic way of looking at it, but it certainly works as a metaphor. But no, the Eva isn't _just_ powered what most people call "Love." The A10 connectors also pick up impulses in the brain that originate from the Motor Cortex, which is where the brain tells the rest of the body where, what and how to move.

"Now, to get back to your original question: the plugsuit is a durable, skin-tight latex second 'skin,' which sensors are imbedded into that will monitor your vitals during a battle. Heart rate, blood pressure, that sort of thing. Let's see…" the bottle blonde cupped her chin in thought as she recalled other specifics.

"Oh yes, it also acts as a sort of flight suit, and so it has a few first aid devices imbedded into it. A defibulator first of all, with a few small doses of stimulants or tranquilizers for emergencies."

"Oh, well, that's good. But, what does it have to do with that A10 stuff?"

"Well, along with the sensors, there are additional electrodes that are designed to pick up any residual impulses pertaining to body movement throughout the body."

The boy looked to his shoulder, where Sachiel had been unusually quiet during the explanation. At his shrug, Shinji turned back to Ritsuko.

"I don't think I follow."

The scientist sighed. It was frustrating explaining things to someone had a lower education exposure to oneself. Still, being cross and condescending wouldn't help in the short _or_ long term.

"I'm afraid I'm not all that good at explaining these sorts of things, am I? Teaching really isn't my forte. Basically all I can say is that the impulses from the brain are dispersed all over the whole body. The plugsuit is designed to pick up on these impulses, and then utilize them in order to boost the signals from the A10 connectors, rather than let them be dispersed into the entry plug, where it basically becomes useless static. With the plugsuit, one's sync score has been shown to be improved anywhere from three to twelve entire percentage points. So you can see why you getting a 43 percentage score without one is impressive."

Shinji blushed at the subtle praise. He just wasn't used to this sort of thing, but while Ikari processed that information, he and Ritsuko came to a stop.

"Ah, here we are."

Coming up to what Shinji had started to realize was NERV's version of a generic door, Ritsuko swiped a card, opening the door after a moment's wait, entering into a dark room. The chamber had to be about twelve feet high, and looking up Shinji could see what appeared to be the chair that was situated in the entry plug. If it was made out of Plexiglas.

Suddenly, the amiable Ritsuko Akagi he saw chatting with Misato was gone, replaced with Ritsuko the Scientist he first met in that elevator.

"Maya, are you all set to go?"

A pretty voice that Shinji recognized as the one guiding him through turning the Eva on came out from unseen speakers.

**"Yes Sempai, I'm almost done with the final calibrations. All that's left to do is for you to log in and get Shinji prepped."**

"Roger that."

She turned to him.

"Now Shinji, I'll be in the control room behind me. I need you to go into that" she pointed at the wall behind Shinji, with a perfectly ordinary white door, "room, then strip naked and stand in this circle right here." She pointed at the white circle on the floor between them that the boy just noticed.

"N-naked?" the boy covered himself while doing his best impression of a turtle. "Why?"

_"I think we know THAT one Shinji, you lucky mutt you!"_

Akagi at least had the decency to have at least a _tiny_ blush, tiny and unseen in the dark room though it was (poor Maya was probably beat red).

"In order for the plugsuit to be able to do its job, it must have as much direct surface-to-surface contact as possible, so it needs to be like a second skin, just like I mentioned earlier. If so much as a single cc of LCL gets in between the plugsuit and the skin, it could potentially negate any benefits the suit may have in terms of your sync-ratio.

"Therefore, hyper-precise measurements are needed. We are going to ask you to stand or sit in a few simple poses that you would be expected to make the most often while wearing it, to better calculate where elasticity and strength would be best needed.

"I know that this will be awkward for you, but there isn't any photography in this chamber, and the equipment we use will only record your silhouette, nothing else. We respect your privacy. If you just do as we say, and try not to move, this will be over and done with in two hours. Tops."

And with that, Doctor Akagi turned around and walked through the door she indicated moments before.

_"Welp! You heard the lady! Strip naked and step into the Spot of Naughtiness!"_

"I wish you'd stop that Sachiel." Shinji whispered under his breath.

_"Bah! Where's the fun in that?"_

Either way, Shinji stepped through the door and began to place his clothes on the offered bench.

_'It's just like a public bath. It's just like a public bath. It's just like a public bath. It's just like a public bath. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away.'_

* * *

"I see that your armor has been fully repaired…"

In the cage, only a handful of the lights were on, giving the chamber a gloomy twilight. Almost like the deep catacombs beneath the opera house of the famous French gothic novel. At over seven-hundred feet tall, the room in totality was much larger than at first glance would seem. Other than the Royal Purple head of Unit-01, most of the cage was filled with the mixture of water, LCL and other chemicals that made up the coolant that acted as a secondary restraint for the Eva.

In the middle of the Umbilical Bridge/Restraint Bolt 1 system, stood a man. A single, solitary man, literally…

And figuratively.

"Not that I doubted Ritsuko's report, naturally. I just wanted to see for myself." Gendo shifted his weight, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm certain that you remember Ritsuko, Naoko's daughter. She's, very good at what she does."

She's also an excellent scientist.

"At any rate, it means you will be ready to face the next Angel when it comes. And… protect Shinji."

The commander of NERV removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

"He reminds me so much of myself at that age darling. A heart so tender and fragile. I can only imagine what he would have been like had I raised him as Fuyutsuki said I should have. I cannot think of a positive image."

With a self-defeated sigh, Gendo placed his hands behind his back, rocking on his heels for a moment in quiet reflection before looking Unit-01 in the eye again.

"I played a cruel trick on the boy. When he refused to pilot, I wheeled Rei out. She has a damaged ocular orbit, and broken arm and collar bone, along with other injuries. She would not have survived the sortie. And just as I anticipated, Shinji took the chance to fight in her stead. I can make excuses about how with the Angel was literally on our door step, about how he _needed_ to pilot because there was no one else, but it's still not how a father should treat his son. I had thought I had learned from my own experiences… But then I lost you."

The man's eyes hardened and his neutral if perhaps a touch emotional voice cooled to absolute zero.

"Soon. Soon our plans will reach fruition, and with some luck you will be _free_ from your cage. And then, we can begin the process of rebuilding our family. Me, you, and Shinji."

Even as he tried to control it, Gendo's voice began to tremor just slightly, as he reached out, and oh so gently laid his hand flat onto the nasal area of Unit-01's mask.

"We'll possibly move somewhere into the mountains, where it's quiet, and we can get reacquainted with our son, and begin to erase the memories of these past ten years of Hell. Soon, my Juliet. My Rachel…

"My Yui."

* * *

The thin red line of the scanning laser passed over Shinji's face for what seemed like the four-thousandth time. Which might not be too inaccurate, all things considered. At the moment the young Ikari was sitting in what turned out to be indeed a Plexiglas mock-up of the entry plug, lowered onto the floor for the "Pilot Positioning" scans. Sachiel sat on a curve of the glorified chair, chin in his hands, and an expression of pure, unadulterated, mind-numbing _boredom_ on his face, all the while the red light passed straight through him with no indication that it hit something at all. Evidently the Angel realized the poor wisdom in trying to egg-out a reaction from Shinji during tests that needed him to be stationary, because he had been silent the whole time.

**"Thank you Shinji,"** came the voice of Lt. Ibuki from behind the boy, **"you can get out of the mock-up now."**

_"It's about time too!"_ the suddenly animate, and agitated, Child of Water bellowed, throwing his arms into the air as Shinji stood up, offering a thumbs up to the window behind him. _"I swear to DAD that was the __**greatest**__ waste of everyone's time EVER! The Light was cool, I'll give you that. The arms that moved the light and the glass thingy down was freakin' sweat… BUT NOT FOR THIS LONG!_

"_This whole time it's been nothing but 'please Shinji stand up straight.' 'Please Shinji lift your other leg.'_ Please Shinji_ make that same pose but tense your muscles!' '_PLEASE_ Shinji make that same pose but __**relax**__ your muscles!' 'Please Shinji, make that same pose again but turn your head and __**FART!**__' DAD DAMMIT!_

"_But __**FINALLY**__ we can at least get a change of scenary!"_

**"One moment Shinji." **Ritsuko said over the intercom.

"Huh?"

**"You can put on your clothes, but not your shoes or socks. We still need a few hi-resolution scans of just your hands and feet, and then we're done here."**

_"…__**OH GOOD DAD!**__"_

Shinji didn't look at the spectral Angel as he went to get his clothes, donning his briefs as he spoke.

"Relax Sachiel, it's almost over okay? Then maybe we can get some lunch."

The tiny Angel "leaned" against the door frame of the little undressing room, crossing his arms over his chest.

_"Pfft. Whatever man. Anything to get out of this room, know what I mean?"_

"Well, yeah." The boy answered as he buttoned up his shirt. "I know what you mean, but really the best thing to do is just do as you're told and you'll be fine. It's always worked for me."

Sachiel looked at Shinji with even eyes for a pregnant pause.

_"That's dumb."_

Shinji looked at the Angel, a hint of surprise in his face. "What do you mean?"

_"I mean, sure, I get how the Herd Mentality has its advantages when you don't know what to do and stuff, but you can't just go with the flow ALL the time man! Ya gotta get out there, tell folks that you're sick 'n' tired of their BS and kick 'em to the curb!"_

"Well that's not very nice."

Sachiel smacked his palm to his forehead.

_"Shinji, there's a difference between 'nice' and being a pansy. Guess which side of that line you are?"_

The boy halted in the middle of looping his belt. He looked down and away from the Angel, hurt by the criticism.

"Sorry."

Sachiel smacked his forehead again before moving his hand to scratch the back of his head.

_"Oy vey. Look, Shinji, you're a good guy. Heck, if everyone of you humans were like you the world would be golden… But Dad Dammit you need some self-confidence! Shit, if you were in charge of making a big decision that involved actual lives, I'd bet my face that you'd just sit there!"_

"Eh-uh w-w-well I don't-"

_"Don't bother Shinji."_ the Angel looked at the pilot for a long hard moment, staring him right in the eyes. It was a little unnerving. _"That's it, you're gonna be my project."_

"Your what?"

_"My project! I'm gonna be your invisible instructor on how to get some spine. 'Socialization for Retards!' That's what I'll call it!"_

Shinji grimaced at the title of Sachiel's little tutorial. "I don't really think this is a good idea."

_"Pfft. C'mon! You've obviously failed to be properly taught to interact by your own species, how much more damage can I do?"_

_'So much it's not even funny.'_

_"C'mon."_ the Angelic ghost said, placing a tri-symmetrical hand on the boy's shoulder. _"Let's get this last stuff over with, and maybe the next thing Doc Tar-Lung wants us to do won't be so mind-numbingly drawn out."_

* * *

_"_Four…_ Hours…?"_

_"Oh Dad Dammit."_

Maya was once again behind glass outside the white room, doing whatever it is people do to work what was evidently a CT-Scan machine.

Doctor Akagi stood in between Shinji and the invisible Sachiel, giving the facts as they were.

"Yes I know, but it's important that we do this. There are many dangers inherent in being an Eva Pilot Shinji."

_'Oh. Great. And I just signed the waver too. Now you tell me. Thanks.'_

"The chief among them is what is known as Mental Contamination."

"What's that Doctor?"

"Well, it's mostly just Academic Metabiologic theory right now, since thus far there has only been one known battle between an Angel and an Eva. Until we get more data, the term for now is mostly just a catch-all term for everything from neural damage, to developing the stigmata of the Eva's injuries, to direct brain-to-brain contact between a human and an Angel."

Sachiel snorted.

_"She's talkin' about me. Isn't she?"_

'_You're awfully pleased at the implication.'_

"We don't know how it can be transmitted, how it manifests-"

_"How about shootin' the breeze with the guy who killed me lady! Ha ha!"_

"-or even if it's contagious, but given what we now know about the soul, the idea that the mind, not the brain, but the _mind_, that which separates us from the apes, can become infected with metaphysical 'germs,' is less of a Theory, and more of a Law."

If they were able to find concrete proof of such a concept, instead of highly researched speculation, and have definite definitions laid out, whole fields of study, such as psychology, could be revolutionized.

But that wasn't important. What _was_, was getting that data on the Third Child's mental state, and given the look the boy had on his face at the moment, staring at the machine like that, Ritsuko was a little worried that the information they were about to get from his noggin might be flawed. Time to lighten the mood a little.

_'Gendo's going to have my hide if he hears about this.'_ "You know, just between us, your mother came up with the idea."

The boy looked from the machine and back at Ristuko.

"R-really?"

"Oh yes. It was her Graduate's Research paper, and ultimately the topic of her thesis. The story goes that your father met your mother not long after she turned in that paper."

Shinji stared at Ritsuko with disbelief, eyes wide in wonder. "Really? I… I never heard of how they met."

Ritsuko couldn't help but laugh a little. "Well then you are in for a treat when you do. Last I heard that story is _still_ being bandied about around the Kyoto U campus: The story of the school's top student, a shoe-in for Valedictorian, falling for the-"

**"Sempai? Everything is prepped and ready to begin the scans."**

_"Oh screw you lady!"_ Sachiel yelled through the glass, _Ritsky here was just about to tell us something sexy!"_

"Right. Thank you Maya."

_'That nice woman inside is gone again.'_ Shinji thought. _'I wish she'd stay in that mode more often. She seems nicer then.'_

"Okay then Shinji, as I told you earlier, this scan will take about four hours. Fortunately this is only to get us a baseline for comparison later. Subsequent scans will not be near as long."

"Still, that's a long time Doctor. Longer than the measuring earlier."

Akagi nodded. "I know, but fortunately, unlike a typical CT-Scan, we don't need you to remain still, so you are free to get comfortable and move positions as you please. Just stay in the tube. Also, we've made steps to help alleviate boredom. Once you get inside you'll find a small TV built into the machine. It's a special model designed to be unaffected by the machine's electromagnetic field."

The bottle blonde pushed a button on the side of the machine, the bed of the scanner rolling out.

Shinji looked at Sachiel from the corner of his eye, gauging his reaction. The tiny Angel saw the motion.

_"Meh. I'm getting used to the weird crap you humans make."_

"Now Shinji, just take of your shoes and hop on, then we'll begin."

**"Uhh, sempai? Wouldn't it be a good idea for Ikari to take a potty break?"**

"…"

"…Well, now that you mention it."

"You're right. Of course. Take a left in the hall, follow the signs. Then come right back, and after the scan we'll break for a late lunch. How does that sound?"

The growling of Shinji's stomach answered that question.

**"There should also be a vending machine on the way too. Just run your ID Card through it and it'll charge your account."**

* * *

One wicked wiz and a candy bar later, Shinji was laying flat on his back on the surprisingly soft bed of the CT-Scan, the sound of electric servos whining the only sounds in his world as it was retracted. Looking towards his feet, Shinji could clearly see Maya Ibuki and Doctor Akagi, the former sitting at a computer terminal, the latter standing just behind her and to the side, on the other side of the glass. He looked up just in time to see a black square 'fall' into his field of vision.

"Well what do you know, there is a TV."

It was only an eight-inch, but considering the alternative, it was an IMAX.

_'There aren't any buttons. Is it a touch screen?'_ A tentative tap, and the NERV logo faded into the black background, replaced by a list of channels and what was currently playing.

_"Oh that's so cool! What's this one?"_

The tiny Angel slapped his hand against one of the light blue bars, and the whole screen warped and rearranged itself in to a Siberian Tiger, roaring with all his might into the camera.

And thus right in Sachiel's face.

_"AHH! Oh Dad it's gonna eat me!"_

The boy just ignored the Angel now trying to burrow into his armpit, and tapped the screen again, returning them to the main menu.

A pause, and Sachiel's head popped up from his hiding place.

_"…I totally didn't scream."_

"_Sure_ you didn't."

_"…Bite me Shinji. Bite me."_

Their little discussion was interrupted by the crackling of the speaker Shinji just realized was there on his right.

**"Shinji? It's Doctor Akagi. Look to your right. See the speaker? If you need to talk with us for whatever reason: claustrophobic, feeling isolated, or just any further questions, hold down the blue button next to it. Just remember to release it when you're done talking. Did you get that?"**

After a moment's pause, Shinji pushed the button. "Uh, y-yes ma'am."

Ibuki's voice came over the speaker.

**"Okay Shinji, we'll begin then."**

Seconds later, the machine buzzed to life, soon settling into a steady rhythm as the electromagnets and other components began to look into the layout of the pilot's brain.

Not even half a minute passed before Sachiel grew bored.

_"Okay, let's try this again."_

With a little bit more consideration, even if he couldn't read, Sachiel carefully tapped a different selection than earlier.

"_It's the Beee~eeest Daaa~aaay Eee~eeve-!_"

_"Gay."_

"_-In other international news, in the US, Jimmy Hoffa's body has finally been found, buried on a farm in Upstate New York-_"

_"Boring."_

"_Yippee-oh-ki-ay Motherfu-_"

_"What."_

"Sachiel? Why don't we find something and stick with it?"

_"But I wanna see what else they gooo~ooot!"_ the Angel whined.

"Well, you know I doubt it's all that different from what Misato has."

A quick series of jabs and Shinji found himself at a Classical concert. From the sound of the piece, it was Johan Sebastian Bach.

_"Bored now. I wanna see what else they've got."_

Shinji quickly tried to stop the Angel's tiny hand before it touched the screen. "No way! Bach is one of the greatest composers of all-"

"_Al? Is the building on fire?_"

But he was still too slow.

"…Oh."

"_No, but it's going to need a coat of paint and a hell of a lot of screen doors._"

"_Aww! We missed an explosion!"_

"Come on Sachiel, don't you want to learn about the great feats of Human culture?"

The Angel turned to him, seeming to consider it.

_"Not… _Particularly_, no."_

Shinji sighed.

* * *

It was over two-hours into the scan, and Maya was alone. Sempai Akagi having run to do a few other things she needed to do, promising to return with coffee. In the meantime, she was dividing her time between monitoring the readouts on her terminal, observing their newest pilot through the window, and reading the latest trade paperback of her favorite manga (and taking a page from Makoto's strategy guide in hiding it in a blank folder).

"Oh Yuki you poor thing!" Maya thought to herself aloud, holding the open book close to her chest. "You have spent so long with your mentor, and yet Usagi doesn't see how you truly feel… Ohh."

No, she wasn't projecting onto a fictional character. That would be silly.

Clearly.

At the sound of the door to the hallway opening, Maya quickly hid her manga, losing her place in the process. Turning to Ritsuko, Maya managed to maintain as stoic expression as possible. Hyuuga might be able to bear everyone at NERV knowing about his hobbies, but she couldn't.

Then she noticed what was in Ritsuko's hand: an extra coffee mug. Ritsuko handed it to her assistant, not even looking at her. "Here you go Maya."

"Thanks sempai."

"Now, how's our little hero doing?"

Maya took a drink from the bitter liquid before turning towards the window, where Shinji was clearly seen.

"Well, I'd say he's a lot more bored in there than he is letting on. He keeps changing the channels, and he seems to be talking to himself."

Ritsuko took a drag from her own coffee as she pondered that.

"That's not _so_ bad I suppose. Everyone has their own quirks in these situations. Though I would suggest setting up a closer monitoring net on him, to see if there are further signs of potential Mania." _'I hope it won't reveal anything though. Rei may be able to sync with Unit-01, but it is notoriously buggy and unreliable with her. If we were to lose Shinji now we would be in a precarious situation.'_

Right then, an alert beeped onto Maya's screen. Turning towards the readout, the technician looked at the provisional record of Contamination. Looking at the numbers, Maya's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Huh, that's odd. This doesn't look right."

Ritsuko turned from the Third Child towards her assistant.

"What's wrong Maya?"

"When we were going through the check-list for the Activation of Unit-01, Shinji's MC score was almost _half_ of this. Don't misunderstand me, it's still well within the projected safety ranges, and the machine has only just started the double-check cycle, but such a leap in a few days is troubling."

Doctor Akagi leaned over Maya's shoulder. Sure enough, the score was much higher than it was earlier. True, there was some need of concern at the prospect, but at the same time there were reasons for skepticism.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it right now Maya. Remember, the scanners in the entry plug are nowhere near as sophisticated as the purpose-built machines, so the margin of error is much greater. Also, that Angel _did_ run Unit-01's head through, so a slight jump shouldn't be unexpected. But let's do keep an eye on it as well, if it looks like the Mental Contamination will reach dangerous levels, pull the pilot immediately."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Shinji?" The doctor asked into the mike, "How are you holding up."

In the modified CT-Scanner, the boy seemed to make shushing motions before reaching for the Talk button. _'Hmm… It could mean nothing, but then…'_

**"I'm okay I guess Doctor. How long have I been in here?"**

"About two-hours forty-three minutes Sempai."

"A little over two and a half hours. Maya says you have about seventy-seven minutes left."

From their vantage point, Shinji seemed to make placating motions, through the intercom Ritsuko and Maya could hear him whispering to someone. The scientist and her assistant looked at each other from the corners of their eyes.

**"Umm, thank you, Doctor Akagi."**

"You're welcome Shinji."

Ritsuko and Maya looked at each other.

"Maya. _Definitely_ keep a close eye on this one's mental state."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

All of the rooms of the hospital in the Geofront were completely uniform, with the only variations between them being the view outside, and the patient, or lack thereof, in the bed.

In one room in particular lay a girl, no more than fourteen years old, with red eyes, blue hair, and pale skin. Her arm and right eye were both bandaged, and she did nothing but lie in the bed, staring at the ivory ceiling.

_'White… The color of snow, the winter's rain that I have never seen. The color of death, that which I was spared from, that which… I seek? Yes. I do think I want that nothingness. It is… familiar… somehow…'_

A pair of broken glasses flashed before her mind's eye. A relieved countenance framed by bright light followed. In response, the girl's cheeks flushed the barest shade of pink for only a fraction of a second.

_'And yet, I am unable to return. He needs me. And yet…'_

A boy her age, staring her in the eye as she was wheeled back into her room.

_'Will he still? Now that his flesh is here?'_

An orange giant writhed in enraged agony, its fingers clawing her mind. Pain splashing across her body as she was flung from her seat.

_'After I had failed?'_

She heard the door to her room open and close, with not a word from her visitor. Most people would have tried to see who had come. But that was a waste of energy, the door was on her temporarily blind side. In any case, her guest would make themselves known soon enough, via checking her vitals or replacing the nutrient bags if it was an orderly, or coming to her side if it was a visitor. Her next scheduled visit from the staff was not for another hour.

And only one person visited her.

"Hello Commander."

"Hello Rei."

The owner of the voice did not bother walking into her field of vision. Audio only communication was sufficient.

"How has your recovery been?"

"Well, sir."

"Are you in pain?"

"Yes sir. But it is manageable Commander."

"…Good."

There was silence in the room. Ayanami knew that he was observing her, looking for any falsehoods or further faults. The girl hated disappointing the commander this way. How angry he must be with her.

Or so she assumes.

"I have spoken with your doctors Rei. They say that, if you do not strain yourself, and allow for a nurse to follow you around, and do as he or she tells you, you can be allowed to walk for a few minutes a hand-full of times a day to maintain your muscle tone. Can you do that?"

"Yes sir."

"I meant the conditions Rei."

He was answered with silence.

"Pilot. Your health is paramount to piloting your Eva. You _can_ be replaced. However, it is at great expense and inconvenience. While true the Angels could come at any time, it is not probable that multiple ones will come en masse at this point of the time table. You will have time to recover. You will do as your doctors recommend. Are we clear?"

_'Even when I do as expected, he is unsatisfied?'_ "Yes. Yes sir. I will."

"Good. Wait here until the orderlies come."

He left, without a further word.

The sight of an injured girl who so much resembled his wife was… _difficult_.

* * *

Unlike the other three main mess halls spread out through HQ, the mess hall for the higher ranked men and women of NERV, with its dim mood lighting, cocktail bar and plush chairs, would be much more accurately termed as a Lounge. In fact, it was an unspoken tradition that every Friday be what was known as Rat Pack day, where music from the 1950's and 60's Las Vegas lounge era was played. Currently playing was Old Blue Eyes' cover of _Fly Me To The Moon_. It was often considered one of the Crown Features of Dogma in the Geofront.

But it was too far away from the labs to justify going for lunch there, so Ritsuko, as was common, settled for one of the less glamorous cafeterias for lunch with the Third Child.

"So what's next after lunch Doctor Akagi?" Shinji inquired as he sipped his (instant) tea.

_"Tell us it's not another thing. Please."_

The scientist impaled another bunch of lettuce and grilled chicken of her salad on her fork.

"Well, we have to calibrate Unit-01's neural patterns to your own. Which should take about, oh…four-to-six hours. And I'm sorry to say that this is probably going to be the most mentally strenuous things we will have you do, since you will need to keep your mind blank the whole time."

_"Fans in Upper Caustic Knots. This world hates me, doesn't it?"_

"Ohh. Is… That so…?"

_"Excuse me. I need to find something hard and sharp to bludgeon my head against."_

Even if Shinji _could have_ spoken to the tiny Angel without drawing unwanted attention, he would not have bothered telling Sachiel that such an action would do no good.

Ritsuko raised her hands palm-out in a placating fashion.

"I know, I know. And it will be especially hard for a young mind. But, it's one of those things that needs to be done no matter what if we want your sync-ratio to be optimized to its fullest extent. Like the plugsuit, it's not _strictly_ necessary, a high enough base sync will make an Eva move anyway, but at the same time it will give you an advantage. And we both know that you are going to need every advantage you can get. Right?"

The boy looked into his cooling tea.

"Well, I guess so."

Ritsuko gave him as warm a smile as she could manage.

"Look, if it makes you feel better, considering that it will be about dark by the time we're through, I might just post-pone your first Sync and Harmonics tests until next week."

She didn't see the spectral Angel flying between her and Shinji, getting right in his face.

_"Shinji! Hey buddy! Hot chick! Coming this way! Look lively, we'll practice your SexyDude!"_

"Huh?" the Third child looked around and behind Ritsuko, just in time to see the girl he saw days ago hobble in, supporting herself by the rolling stand for the IV bag of… whatever hospital fluid was orange.

Ritsuko looked at the boy in front of her in confusion before turning to see what he was looking at. Getting up when she recognized the girl.

"Rei? What are you doing out here? You should be in bed!"

The girl stopped, hunching over slightly, gasping for breath and clasping onto the stand with both hands, pale knuckles were bone-white by the force she managed to generate.

"She is, but the Commander and the doctors said that she should get her exercise." Came the voice of the nurse from the entrance, rolling an unfolded wheelchair in front of him. "Though I doubt they meant for her to go more than fifteen meters, let alone a hundred."

While the nurse and Akagi debated the merits of this sort of exertion this soon, especially concerning the subject, Shinji tentatively (at the rather harsh shoving of Sachiel) walked up to the girl in the hospital gown.

_"Okay Shinji,"_ the Child of Water said, _"here's the game plan. You are gonna walk up to her, and say…"_ the Angel made a double-handed pointing motion, and made a smug/'seductive' smirk with a cocked eyebrow. _"Hey Babe. How's it goin'?"_ Then he clicked his tongue twice in rapid-fire succession.

When Shinji was finally only a couple feet way, the girl looked up, her exhausted and pained eye looking right into his, gasping for breath like a beached fish.

_"Go for it! Just like I told ya!"_

The young Ikari's nervous habit of flexing his hand made itself known as he tried to put the Angel's (weird, stupid, sexist) plan into motion.

_"You can doo eet!"_

"H-…H-hi. I'm, I'm Shinji. I… Hope you're better? After, the other day?"

_"…Close enough! Progress is progress!"_

The two Children stood there is silence, aside from Ayanami's pained breathes. Sachiel smacked his forehead.

_"Dad dammit. Tell her she's got nice tumors!"_

The advice had the precise _opposite_ affect he wanted, bringing red to the boy's face, and a small chocking sound to his mouth.

_'What is wrong with Pilot Ikari? It would seem unlikely that his air passages are closed, since he has not been ingesting in the immediate past, although it would be the most likely explanation given that we are in the mess hall. Curious.'_

It is probably for the best that Rei Ayanami has not discovered her appeal to the opposite sex. The concept of this girl awakening to her own sexuality (not _that_ way! Just her Sex Appeal) would mean total control over the male half of her school within the month.

"Come on Rei, into the chair. It's time for you to go back to bed."

"I can walk."

Turning around, the First Child found herself faced not only with the stern face of the nurse, but of Doctor Akagi as well, who had her arms crossed and a firm expression on her face.

_'Oh. It would seem that I failed to account for my blind spot in scoping out the room. Sloppy.'_

"Rei. You are still in the early stages of recovery. You _need_ to pace yourself. Otherwise you will be pulled from active duty, unless needed, even _after_ Unit-00 is ready."

"But I am-"

Akagi's eyes narrowed, and the nurse made a gesture to his belt, loaded with tranquilizers.

"-going back to bed."

"…"

"In the chair."

"Better."

Accepting the nurse's and Ritsuko's help (reluctantly), Rei Ayanami eased herself into the wheelchair, and was rolled back down the halls and to her bed.

"That girl… Going to get herself killed one of these days." Turning back around, Ritsuko almost jumped at seeing Shinji right behind her, forgetting that he was there.

"Well. That was Rei Ayanami, NERV's personal Little Engine That Wants To."

Neither Shinji nor Sachiel got the reference. One wouldn't be expected to. You decide which is which.

"Anyway, why don't we get going, shall we? The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll be finished, right?"

"Uhh, right."

Ritsuko retrieved her salad. "Come on Shinji, follow me."

"Um, yes ma'am."

Sachiel moved to follow the pair, but stopped. _"Waiiiit a minute…"_ the little Angel turned around to look at the retreating back of Rei Ayanami, a perplexed expression on his face.

_"It couldn't be… And yet…"_

Suddenly realizing that he was alone, Sachiel looked around before seeing Shinji's foot disappear behind a corner at the far end of the corridor.

_"Ah crap! Wait up!"_

* * *

We _could_ go into the specifics of what Shinji and Sachiel did during the five-hour procedure of Shinji's mental calibration with Unit-01…

But you will be spared the mind-numbing details.

Sachiel is not so fortunate.

Though it _did_ give him time to ponder things. However, his silence would worry Shinji the longer it lasted, even into the trip home.

* * *

In the Katsuragi residence, the lights were all dark, except for the blue-tinted glow of the TV. Sitting in the easy chair, Pen-Pen leaned back, pleased with himself. Had he been capable of it, the Hot Springs Penguin would have had a rather lecherous grin on his face. The reason for it was the re-run of an old National Geographic documentary.

The subject? Penguins.

"_And so with the flocks returning to their ancestral homes, the Mating Season is ready to begin._"

With a wark of excitement, the bird sat up, leaning closer towards the screen in anticipation.

"Pen-Pen! We're home!"

A wark of surprised horror, the flightless bird fumbled with the remote control, just barely being able to turn off the TV before Misato walked in.

"Did you have a good day sweetie?" the woman coo'd, snuggling the bird in a warm embrace.

"Wark!"

"I'm glad! And guess what Mommy got you?"

Placing the fowl back onto the chair, Misato skipped into the entryway and retrieved a plastic sack, from which she pulled out a little carton of…

"_Kip-pers!_"

"Wark! Wak wak!"

In jubilation, the bird leaped from the chair and waddled over to Katsuragi, clapping his flippers and wagging his open-maw-ed head as he did so.

"Okay Pen-Pen!" Misato said, pulling out one of the small fish, "Catch!"

"Wark!"

"There's Mommy's good boy! Wanna go again? Catch!"

All the while, Shinji and Sachiel watched in amazement, though for the latter it was for different reasons.

_"Oh wow… I wander if he's related to Dad?"_

Shinji looked incredulously towards the tiny Angel.

"I'm going to bed. Good night Misato."

"G'Night Shinji! Sweet dreams okay?" Misato turned her attentions back to the penguin "Okay baby, wanna try for doubles? Catch!"

_'I'm not even sure if I want to know if I didn't imagine that.'_

Shinji opened the door to his room and flicked on the light-

_"I still think that that is one of the coolest things ever."_

And began to change into his pajamas.

"You've been awfully quiet since lunch today Sachiel."

_"Meh. I know. Just thinkin' about something."_

_'Uh-oh.'_ "What is it?"

_"That female we met. The hurt one?"_

"Ayanami? What about her?"

_"Well, it's kinda… Hard to say really. Her soul felt… Different, from the rest of the Black Moon life. It felt really familiar somehow… No no, that's not it. I've felt it ever since I came here, just never this intense until we were in the same room. That Rei girl… I don't think she's human."_

Shinji looked the Angel in the eye.

"That's not a nice thing to say about someone Sachiel."

_"Wait wait wait, hear me out here. I'm not saying her __**body's**__ not human. No, He soul isn't human at all. I think that…"_

"You… Think what?"

_"I think that Rei girl is the Black Progenitor."_

* * *

**August 9****th****, 2002. The Lorenz Family Estate, Berlin.**

"It's very interesting."

After the fourteen names were given, Nagisa fell silent again. Lorenz pressed for more information, but the boy's mouth kept closed, tears running down his cheeks again. Realizing that Adam's new body would provide no new information of worth, the man plugged in a set of child-size headphones into the device and gave it to the child. With what an imaginative person would have called a smile, the boy grabbed the player, donned the headphones and rushed to the far corner, hitting the play button, then rewind when the song played itself out, and repeating the process again.

"Very interesting indeed, that the Angel's would have names of existing Traditional Angels."

Two looked to his British counterpart.

"Interesting, but hardly meaningful. The Progenitor Angels, and the beings that built them, are as far beyond our comprehension in every respect as we are to a prokaryotic micro-organism. Clearly, from the way that the boy struggled to even conceptualize them, the Angel's true names are completely unpronounceable even in human cognitive terms, and those names were the closest approximation he could manage, though possibly only after much butchery and bastardization."

Three nodded in agreement.

"Yes. 'Iruel' could have easily come out as 'Ishtar,' and 'Armisael' as 'Amaterassu,' or as complete gibberish altogether."

"Still," Four countered, "I'm concerned about one of the Angel's being named 'Zeruel.' One of Adam's progeny being named after the Angel of Might that traditionally felled the Walls of Jericho, and gave David the strength to defeat Goliath, is worrying."

"This is true." Five pondered. "However, the Scrolls, _did_ say that the more complex an organism an Angel is, in either shape or form or abilities, the longer it would take to develop. In order to build up the firepower and strength needed to earn such a title, this Angel would most likely be towards the end of the war, where it would be facing a hardened force of experienced pilots."

All four of them turned to the chairman, who in turn was gazing at the child in question. With a sigh, he gave his verdict.

"It was well noted that this was a long shot, regardless. We all suspected that a soul transferred to a new body would be wiped clean of the memories of its past self on the journey to a lower form, and thus we should be fortunate to get even this information, useless as it is.

The boy simply ignored the old men, listening to his music, and the feelings and images, warm and comforting, it generated.

* * *

As we all know, Gendo talked to Unit-01/Shogouki/Yui Ikari in episode 24. Why not have him make a habit of it?

The Rachel I had Gendo refer to is a Biblical woman who was the wife of Jacob/Israel, who worked for her father for ultimately fourteen years for her hand. Hey! If Anno can make pointless religious symbolism that really doesn't mean jack, so can I! And since I already did Eve, I had to wonder further out.

Also, this idea started as a fun little creative writing practice on SpaceBattles. There, someone made some fan art of what the Angels looks like as chibis. A link to Sachiel is available in my profile here.


	4. Perception and Reality

**Perceptions and Reality**

**The Artificial Evolution Laboratories, Lake Ashi, 2003**

Yui picked up the phone. "Yes?"

_"Yui? Inform all the female heads of Project E to report to my office for... Examinations..."_

Doctor Ikari restrained a snigger, barely.

"Oh but Director Ikari, what of all the work we have to do?"

_"Table it for tomorrow. Are you questioning a direct order from your Director?"_

With a smug smirk, Yui made sure that her office door was locked.

"Yes. Yes I am. I'm being insubordinate. Whate_ver_ shall you do, _Gendo_?" she asked breathily.

_"Clearly reprimandatory measures will need to be taken."_

"What are you wearing?" She whispered into the phone.

_"Ohhhh baby..."_

* * *

_The Present_

"…What?"

"_I said: That Rei girl's soul is that of the Black Progenitor, our Dad's opposite."_

"…What?"

"_I mean, yeah, I can feel the resonance of the body way way down in the Black Moon, but I am_ definitely _feeling the Progenitor Mojo coming from Rei that indicates a soul."_

"…What?"

"…_Shinji, stop being a moron. I'm speaking directly to your mind, so what you hear is _exactly _what I mean."_

Shinji rubbed his temples as though to alleviate a migraine.

"I'm sorry Sachiel, but you're asking me to believe that Rei Ayanami, my fellow pilot, has _the mind and soul of a billions-year old alien_."

"_Yuh-huh."_

"That was put into the body of a human."

"_Actually, from what I could tell the body is roughly half human and half of the Black Progenitor's. But yeah. Pretty much."_

"Okay then, an alien's soul in the body of a _cloned human hybrid's_ body."

"_Mm-Hmm."_

"…I'm sorry Sachiel, but none of that's… _possible_."

Silence filled the room for what felt like hours, but was really more like thirty second.

"…_You pilot a sexy-fine two-hundred foot tall cyber-thingie that contains a human's soul."_

The young Ikari scratched his chin at that observation.

"Okay… You've got a point there-." Shinji stopped himself when he remembered something else the Child of Water said.

"Wait you mean it does?"

"_What does what?"_

"That Unit-01 has a soul!"

"_Wait, you can't tell?"_

"_No!_ No one can do that!"

"_Oh yeah that's right! Black Moon Progeny don't have massive Soul's Lights. But yeah. That's what I saw when I saw her. And I must say: She's Sex on Legs."_

The human boy blushed red at the blatant and almost flippant discourse

* * *

**NERV-Berlin**

"**Okay Asuka, could you now move your right arm?"**

"Right Arm. Affirmitive."

In the LCL-filled plug, Pilot and Second Child Asuka Langley Soryu moved the right butterfly control forward, and via reading the electrical impulses running through her brain and the entirety of her Peripheral Nervous System, the red-and-white clad arm of her Unit-02, the colors distorted violet by the coolant/LCL/restraint lake it was immersed in, moved in tandem raising one-hundred and twenty degrees from the rest position. With a smirk, the pilot concentrated on the hand beyond, which shifted so that the hand itself made a ninety-degree twist to the left, and the middle and ring fingers both curled into the palm, with the thumb moving into place on top of them and the index and pinkie fingers splayed out.

In other words, forming the "Bull's Horns" gesture.

"**Ha ha ha Asuka. Very amusing."** a different voice from the Pribnow Box said, any amusement sorely lacking.

"I only aim to please Sub-Commander." The girl said innocently.

The second-in-command of NERV-Berlin grumbled under his breath, something about "spoiled teen brats" or some such nonsense.

The sound of someone clearing their throat was heard, and the Science Director spoke up.

"**Uh, yes. Now then Asuka, if you would return to the rest position…"**

With the same ease Eva Unit-02's arm returned to its normal position at the Eva's side.

"**Thank you. This Concludes Synchronization-Link test No. 22. Asuka, you may begin the De-Activation procedure now."**

"Acknowledge. Begin De-Activation." _'About damn time too!'_

[center]-[/center]

Twenty minutes saw Asuka deactivating her precious Unit-02, voiding herself of LCL, peeling off her plugsuit and a quick shower to remove herself of the copper-smelling liquid. And waiting for her was Adonis reborn: tall, handsome, that roguish grin, that touch of stubble, that "just-out-of-bed" wrinkling of his clothing.

Her Guardian, her Man.

Ryoji Kaji. Her future Husband (ha).

"Hello Asuka."

"KAJJIIII!1ONE!"

It should be noted that Asuka Langley Soryu does _not_ "Squee." Such actions are childish and unbecoming of an Eva pilot.

Asuka "Enthusiastically announces her pleasure."

Clearly.

"Oof! It's good to see you too Asuka." Kaji greeted tentatively, both from his recovering of her attempt to crush his ribcage, and slight nervousness at the teen's obvious crush on him, age of consent be damned. "So, how was the test?"

The red-head scoffed, still maintaining her vice-grip on his arm.

"Pretty boo~ooring. It was pretty much the usual stuff. It would've been _so much_ more bearable had _you_ been there Kaji."

Kaji tried to keep his choked throat clearing discreet. (Un)Fortunately Asuka's selective hearing was on today.

"Tempting I'm sure Asuka, but I'm afraid I have other things that demand my attention."

Her pout was adorable, in its own way, and had she not been interested in men old enough to be her father, Ryoji would have told her so. But since she _was_, it would only encourage her.

"Yeah, but the Sub-Commander's a real pain to put up with."

"Well, that might be because we just avoided a Third Impact a few days ago."

"Hmm?"

Kaji smirked at the instinctive tensing of the Second Child's shoulders.

"You _have_ been keeping up with your Inter-Site notices, _riii~iiight?_"

Asuka turned her face away from the older man. If it were anyone else, she'd BS an "Of Course! Who do you think I am a moron?" But this was her beloved Kaji! She couldn't lie to him! If she made a habit of dishonesty, one day he might let the silly idea that she was being unfaithful into his head!

The Agent of SEELE/NERV/The JSSDF chuckled paternally as he patted Asuka on the head with his free hand. He knew she hated it, since it was the action one would give to a _child_ after all.

Which was why he did it, anything to remind her of their respective places after all. Child Molesters, rapists and Kin-Slayers fare the worst in the world's prisons you know.

"Don't worry about it. I would, however, check out the footage from Tokyo-3 I e-mailed you if I were you. I'd say that the Third Child's first battle would be of interest."

At that nugget of information, Asuka looked up to Kaji with surprise.

"The Third Child's been found?"

"Mm-hmm. Shinji Ikari, Commander Ikari's son."

"His son?"

"That's right. In a way I'm a little annoyed by that, since it completely invalidates my little theory on why some children are chosen as pilots and others aren't." he said, playfully, "Clearly one's Sex is a non-factor." Seeing Asuka turn away from him for a moment, possibly in thought, a niggling little thought came to mind that amused the man to no end. "Perhaps you two could become a, _team_, assuming that he doesn't have… _Alternative_ arrangements?"

Like a female Rum Tum Tugger dismissing cream, Asuka stuck her nose up in distaste at the innuendo.

"Oh please. Even _if_ the Third _Child_ is a _boy_, _I'm_ only interested in _men_, like you Kaji!"

'_Oh good grief.'_ (Un)Fortunately, in her exuberance, Asuka didn't see the man roll his eyes. With a little effort, he _did_ manage to free his arm, and return much needed oxygen to his hand. "Well, I'm very flattered Asuka. Now, why don't we get some dinner Second _Child_?"

Asuka's eye twitched at the reminder of the greatest barrier between her and her love (ha).

* * *

Six hours later saw Asuka once more trying to score with Kaji, and failing in a suitably humorous manner. As per usual.

Then she had another dinner of frozen pizza alone. "Reports to file," Kaji had said. Most girls Asuka's age would spend their nights running up the phone bill with friends, talking about boys, schoolwork, what the latest hot movie star was doing with that woman (who was _obviously_ a slut), and other such topics for gossip.

Instead, Asuka Langley Soryu, age thirteen, sat in her room, the cell phone she was given in order for the aforementioned discussion with non-NERV girls still never ringing, with her sitting at the computer, filing through her official e-mail box.

And the over nine-hundred thirty e-mails of official business unopened.

Most of them were of typical, boring stuff: Announcements concerning potential fluctuations in pay and in schedules, the occasional Lost and Found notice and little celebrations across the base. Then there where the Inter-Site notices that were usually a little more interesting: data transfers between the resident science facilities, alerts on suspect Angel activity and the like.

"Ugh! Where _is_ it? It's only been, what, three days? How can so much crap come in in such a short amount of time?"

Quite easily evidently, if one doesn't check her e-mail at least once a day.

Clicking the "select all" box three times got rid of a sizable chunk of the "junk" e-mails, bringing up the date the message she was looking for could be expected on.

"All right Third, let's see what you're made of…"

Once the video was loaded, Asuka watched the climactic battle with the Third Angel.

…Which was freakin' boring at first, so she dragged the curser towards the end, and thus skipping the right trouncing that Unit-01 and the Third Child got, and thus the most she saw of the battle was Shogouki going berserk.

Seeing the brutality at what she thought were Ikari's hands, Asuka found that she had a sudden hankering for some chocolate.

'_Mmmm… Asuka likes…_

'…_.WAIT! Where the __**HELL**__ did __**that**__ come from!'_

Well you see Asuka, there comes a time in every young woman's life tha-

* * *

Shinji of Ikar province swallowed as he stood at the mouth of the cave, purple and green armor gleaming in the spring sun, a pin-point spark on the tip of the crest flaring from its nose. Within that cave was the maiden daughter of Lord Ayanami, a retainer of his father's court. In order to regain his Honor in his father's eyes, Shinji would have to rescue her.

She was said to have been of skin so pale, she was the envy of the goddess Amaterassu herself, and hair that had been kissed by the sky.

And a Dark Dragon from the depths of the underworld captured her to be his bride.

Drawing his sword, the Samurai warrior in training walked cautiously into the cave.

The air was damp, and even though the cave grew ever darker, he could still see. Clearly evidence of the dragon's dark magiks.

Rounding a corner, Shinji saw her, sitting in the lotus position at a golden alter, to whom he could not tell.

And she was just as lovely as the gossip said. And yet, for a captive, she was not caged, not chained or restrained in any way. And there was no sign of the dragon.

'_No telling how long that'll last.'_

Rushing off to the girl, Shinji startled her by grabbing her shoulder.

"Come Lady Ayanami! I come from my Father's court to rescue you!"

She looked to him in confusion.

"Res…cue?"

"Yes my lady, from the Dragon that has kidnapped you!"

Something resembling comprehension crossed her face as she placed a tiny, gentle hand on his own.

"Young warrior, you have been misled. While in these past few years I have worn the guise of a mortal woman, this shell is nothing more than a vessel. More of a prison, one that I have finally freed myself from."

With that, Ayanami's form shifted and warped, the snowy skin staining to a nighttime ebony. Her sky-touched hair falling onto to the cave floor as the head lost all definition. The body grew to tremendous size, filling the cave.

The young samurai to be backed up in horror at the monstrosity before him, barely releasing a scream as the creature's steadying foot fell upon him and-

* * *

Shinji groaned under his breath. His eyes still blazing with the comforting burn of drowsiness, whereas the rest of his body stated that it was, indeed, time to wake up. With considerable effort, the young Ikari managed to pry open his eyes…

To see the grinning visage of Sachiel on his chest.

"_Moo~oorning!"_

Oh how Shinji wished he could kill the Angel… Again… Especially since he clearly inspired that freakin' _weird_ dream.

"_Ya know what I've been thinkin' of?"_

"…I'd say not to bother, if I knew you wouldn't listen to anything I said."

"_Darn right!"_

Shinji sighed. What else _could_ he do?

"_Anyway, I say you should make nice with the Black Progenitor!"_

"…Whu?"

"_You're doing that thing again. Stop it. And why shouldn't you? You should see your Ubber-Mommy when she's hurt."_

"I… I don't think I should."

"_Why?"_

"Well… I don't know her. …At all really."

'_Plus there's the fact that she's a freakin' ALIEN!'_

"_So? This is the perfect time to get to know her!"_

"Well, I don't want to be a bother. What if I annoy her?"

"_Then she'll tell you to back off, sheesh."_

And that was just it. It would be better to avoid such an awkward moment than to risk making it in the first place. At least, that's what Shinji told himself.

Wuss.

"_Shinji, it hasn't even been a week since I stabbed you in the eye. What's she gonna do that can top that?"_

All Shinji did in response was roll over and cover his head with the blanket.

"_So what? You're just going to leave that poor girl all alone all day in some kinda box, hurting and no one to talk to?"_

"…"

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this."

"_You're surprisingly easy to push around. We need to work on that."_

Shinji starred at the door, "Ayanami, Rei" clearly written on the patient panel.

It was with more than a little trepidation that he rapt on the door.

[center]-[/center]

Rei Ayanami continued to engage in the same activity she did yesterday: Starring at the ceiling, with the occasional split-second view of the inside of her eyelids.

Riveting stuff.

At that moment, a knock came from the door. This was highly unusual, and none of her previous 'guests' bothered with knocking. So out of place was the sound that Rei turned her head to the door instinctively. After a moment's pause came a tiny voice.

"Umm… Rei? A-are you awake? It… It's me. Shinji Ikari? We met yesterday."

* * *

"_Go in."_

"Huh?"

"_Go in you nincompoop! What, you expect to have a conversation through a door? DAD you need help."_

"Sorry."

"_Don't apologize just go in!"_

* * *

The door opened, revealing the person she suspected would own the voice. The Third Child, the Commander's son. He who threatened her standing here.

He who looked about as nervous as Rei felt.

At his side, she noticed that his hand was flexing in a nervous manner. What was he here for? Perhaps the commander told him to finish her off?

Granted, that seemed highly unlikely given the current place of things in the Scenario, but given how Rei had been nothing but a failure to this point with her Eva, she would not be surprised that the commander was angry enough to risk a destabilization of the Scenario at this stage to try again. And she could not fault the Third Child for carrying out the task. After all, she herself would not hesitate if the situation was reversed.

Shinji scratched his head as he averted her singular gaze, shuffling from one foot to the other.

"So umm… How are things?"

"…"

"Well, yeah. You're hurt I get that. Umm… I was… Was… I uhh."

Rei stared at Shinji.

Shinji stared at Rei.

Sachiel in the immaterial looked back and forth at them both in a hopeful and expectant manner.

Repeat ad nausium.

'_Why is he here? If it is to mock me for my failure, he is doing a very poor attempt at it.'_

"Well, uhh…" Shinji said, trying again, "I… saw that you were hurt, and I wanted to see how you were doing… Umm… I'm Shinji. By the way."

For several crawling seconds, the two teenagers remained in silence, Shinji looking more and more nervous and embarrassed, with Rei… Well, being Rei.

When she finally spoke at last.

"Why are you here?"

Strangely, the boy seemed puzzled by her question. Which in turn puzzled her. And while it didn't register to even her to make a note of it, as he spoke the Third Child's eyes kept jolting to his right, as though looking to someone for reassurance.

"Umm… Well, I uh… I saw that, you were hurt. And since, you know… Uh… You, got more hurt when… When my father wheeled you out to pilot Unit-01 when Sach- when the angel appeared, well… I just… I just wanted to… check on you. Is all."

"…But why?"

Shinji looked dumbfounded at the question, his hand twitching like a rabbit as he seemed to fight within himself over a decision. Then, he looked to the side for a second, as though listening to someone. When he spoke next, it at first sounded like he was reading a script, but seemed to take it to heart as he spoke.

"Some-sometimes… Sometimes, people just… people just, care, about people. I, I just want to see if you're all right Rei. I mean, sure, we'll be… working together I guess, but… but maybe we can… Can… you know?"

No, she doesn't know, but the sentiment was understood nonetheless.

Rei's face didn't change on a superficial level, but to those who knew her best, all two of them, he expression was one of full befuddlement at the thought of someone caring about her for _her_, and not as a piece for some scenario.

It was… uncomfortable for the bluenette.

But at any rate, whatever it was that Shinji Ikari gained, it was lost just as quickly as he swallowed hard with an audible "gulp."

"Uh… well. I uh… I'll… I'll be, going, now. I'm… I'm sorry for, for disturbing you, Rei."

And so, with the girl still looking at him, the boy turned around and walked out the door.

Once more alone in the room, Rei turned her head to the other side, towards the large windows that overlooked the Geofront. This time it was not without a thing to do that she stared blankly, but rather it was due to having much to occupy her mind.

'_He… cares? For purely altruistic purposes? How odd… And yet, Ikari __**seemed**__ to believe what he was saying. Is this the Commander's way of saying I am forgiven?_

'…_Perhaps so.'_

* * *

"And you are certain about this?"

"_Yes commander, the patient has always been a fast healer, so she could be released today. But as her doctor, I would like to keep her for observation until Tuesday, then she can go home for bed rest for a week if she agrees to come in for daily check-ups, then she can go back to school."_

"I see. That would be satisfactory. That is all."

* * *

When the door closed behind him, Shinji fell back onto the wall, hand rubbing his forehead in relief.

Misato smiled from where she stood across from the boy, to the side of Rei's room.

"Well well Shinji, I have to say, that was very sweet of you."

"Uh, thanks Misato, for taking me in today."

The purplette waved off the boy's gratitude.

"Think nothing of it Shinji. To be honest I had some extra work I needed to take care of myself anyway. You know the way back to the apartment right?"

She smiled and pulled out a pen at the boys nod.

"Good! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an enemy almost as bad as the Angels to take care of."

At that Katsuragi went one way, and Shinji and the Angel floating by his side moved for the nearest elevator depot.

Once the door to the carriage closed, Sachiel floated into Shinji's field of vision, arms crossed and a pleased expression on his face.

"_Well done Ikari my man well done. Granted you struggled, but boy did you power on through! And what's most awesome? I just told you to say that people care about people, and you went on to ad-lib a full blown speech almost!"_

"Oh, oh no, I don't think so."

"_Well I do bro, and I gotta say: With a little bit of practice and some self confidence, and you'll be an inspiring leader! Almost a deity-ruler or something!"_

"But she just sat there. She probably didn't even listen to a thing I said."

"_Pfft. So what? That's her problem. But you know what __**I**__ noticed? How she seemed like she couldn't comprehend you bein' nice to her? Is that normal for Females?"_

Shinji looked at the Child of Water with some surprise. But then, now that the tiny Angel mentioned it, she _did_ seem a little confused at what he was doing.

"Well… No. Not really. Actually, it's probably supposed to be the other way around. I think…"

Shinji looked 'through' the door in the figurative direction of Ayanami's room. And now that he thought about it, the nurse seemed a little surprised that Ayanami would have guests at all.

Didn't she have… Anyone?

"_So… What are you thinkin' about Shinji?"_

"Just… thinking…"

"…_Aboouuuut?"_

"Well… It seems like Ayanami doesn't get any visitors, and she must have worked here for years right?"

The Angel shrugged.

"And… And yet, she seems so alone. So… _sad_." _'Like… me.'_ "Do you still think she's the… 'Black Progenitor'?"

Sachiel nodded emphatically.

"_Oh yeah. With no doubt at all now. She is_ definitely _the soul of the Seed of Life of the Black Moon., with her body somewhere below us."_

Shinji looked down at his feet, pondering. If what Sachiel said was true, Rei, in a kinda-sorta way, was the source of all life, and in an abstract way could be seen as Mother Nature herself, as the White Progenitor was the Angel's father…

And she seemed so sad, in spite of having _someone_ being her guardian, like what Misato was for him. Surely.

He could relate.

As though reading his mind, Sachiel sat himself on Shinji's shoulder, placed a hand on his cheek, and asked a simple question.

"_So. Wanna make friends with your Mom?"_

The teen winced at the term. "It's kinda creepy referring to Rei as my _mom_ Sachiel."

Oh you have _nooooo_ idea kid.

"But… Yeah. I'll do it. I mean, if nothing else, I have to work with her until she heals right?"

* * *

While this conversation was taking place, in the Boardroom of Doom-I mean, the mausoleum-NO!-Commander Ikari's office, Sub-commander Fuyutsuki and everyone's favorite necromantic were discussing the conversation they had just witnessed between the First and Third Children.

The dirty voyeurs.

"So." Kozo said. "How does this affect the scenario?"

Ikari was silent, pondering on the possible implications of the actions he just witnessed, and how to best make use, or disuse, of them.

"According to the Third Child's psychological profile, he shouldn't be this extroverted." the older man continued.

'_He's just like me at that age.'_ Gendo thought to himself. _'Imagine if I_ had _taken Fuyutsuki's advice and raised the boy myself.'_

Delusions are a powerful thing it would seem. But still, a Shinji that reached out to Rei could be… _problematic_ later on when the time came. Rei needed to be willing to give up her identity, however briefly or permanently, and be sympathetic to himself in order to give him command of the Anti-AT energies in the upcoming Third Impact, if Yui was to be freed. Fortunately, the derailment was still in its early stages, and was minor enough that damage control was still feasible.

After a stretching moment of silence, Gendo answered Fuyutsuki's inquiry.

"This… Can be, _used_, Fuyutsuki. We just have to control the perception of this incident."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"…You're not telling me how, are you?"

"No."

After all, such things needed to be carefully worded.

* * *

It was about noon-ish when Shinji and Sachiel returned to the apartment, and the boy was feeling a bit pekish. A sandwich was in order.

After collecting the assorted accoutrements necessary for the small meal, Shinji pieced it together in silence.

Or would've, had it not been for the intangible Angel floating around him.

"_Sooo~ooo…"_

"So what?"

"_So, what are you gonna talk with Rei tomorrow about Shinji?"_

"I'm not."

The Child of Water looked to the teen with surprise.

"_Huh? Why not?"_

"I've got school the day after tomorrow Sachiel, and I still need to do my homework."

"…_What?"_

"You're doing that thing Sachiel. Stop it."

"_Huh? …OH! Right, last night, I get it. Anyway, why do you care about this, 'home-work,' business anyway?"_

"Well, I've got to do it anyway, so I might as well do it now."

"_But what about getting friendly with Rei?"_

"I can always do that Sachiel. From the looks of it, Rei isn't getting out of the hospital soon, and if I understand Misato and Doctor Akagi right, I'll be at NERV everyday anyway, so I can visit her then. Besides, I'm, not really used to trying to get to know people." He turned to the tiny green abomination apparition. "Is that better?"

Sachiel crossed his arms, his face clearly showing that he was _not_ pleased, but in the end the Angel just sighed and threw up his arms.

"_Fine! Fine, whatever."_

* * *

In the halls of the medical wing of NERV, Rei was taking her daily walk, the Commander taking time out of his busy schedule to make sure that the girl didn't over-exert herself. Though he made no sign of his thoughts on the subject, Rei felt certain that he was _displeased_ at the fact that he had to metaphorically hold her hand to make sure that she did as she was told.

'_Clearly I have made another mark of my inadequacy in the Commander's eyes, if he feels he has to take time out for a trivial matter such as this…'_

The two walked down the hallway in silence, aside from the occasional squeak from the IV-Stand's wheels. Young Ayanami assumed that the trend would carry on like this, so Ikari's voice startled her. If a blink and a minute turn of the head towards her right could be called a 'startled' reaction.

"What are your thoughts on the Third Child Rei?" Gendo said as he pulled out a PDA, and began tapping a series of icons on the screen with the stylus.

Unbeknownst to Rei, all the security cameras in the halls flickered, and when the screens returned to normal, Security would find that the audio was missing, and would be for the next few minutes.

"I am, uncertain Commander Ikari. He expresses concerns outside of his duties, and does not focus on NERV's mission."

"I see." Gendo said in an even tone. "Rei, what can you tell me about the Scenario?"

That _did_ get a reaction out of Rei, in that she turned fully towards the Commander. Why would he ask that?

"Sir, you know the Scenario perfectly well."

"Humor me Pilot."

"…Yes sir. The primary stage, that is currently being played out, is to eradicate the progeny of the First Angel, Adam, both to prevent an early Impact, and to prevent their interference in the Endgame.

"Secondary Stage, which will run concurrently with the Primary stage, is to retrieve the Lance of Longinus, and to dispose of it in a manner that will be justifiable to the Committee. Like with the Angels, this is to prevent it from interfering in the Endgame.

"Tertiary Stage, also runing concurrent with the Primary and Secondary Stages, is the retrieval of the embryonic Adam, preferably via a double agent of classified identity. It is preferable that this is done without the Committee's knowledge, but is in theory justifiable should they find out.

"Endgame. Once the last Angel is killed and the Lance of Longinus is removed from the equation, the Adam sample and I are to merge with the Lilith sample in Terminal Dogma, and yourself. Then, using the Anti-AT-Field energies created in this form of Third Impact, we are to then retrieve the soul of Doctor Yui Ikari from Evangelion Unit-01. After that, the being created is to be split up between its composite parts, and the Lilith and Adam samples are to be destroyed irreversibly."

"Very good. Now, why is it that we are trying to retrieve Doctor Ikari?"

Rei blinked, stupefied. The girl had never thought to ask _why_ the commander was going to such lengths to save a woman she had never, and likely never _would_, meet. She never had cause to think to ask.

When Rei hung her head in shame (well, more than it already was, considering she was slightly hunched over on the stand), Ikari did something most unexpected: He patted a hand on her shoulder. The contact was only for a brief second, but at the girl's tiny blush, it was clear (to anyone but Gendo, who didn't see it) that it had a penetrating effect.

"As I am sure you noticed," the man continued, "the Third Child is very introverted, but soft-hearted. The latter is admirable, but the former can be damaging."

He would know.

"The former trait, most likely started due to being present during Yui's… _Accident_, even if he doesn't remember it. The best way to begin his healing, and help the Third Child recover is to give him his mother back."

Or, you know, _an actual father figure_, but a mommy works too.

"And this is why we are intentionally diverting the Committee?" The nephil asked innocently.

The man was hesitant in giving his answer.

"…It is a _sizable_ motivation. Yes."

Actually, generations of historians will good naturedly debate over how much of this motivation was genuinely felt, and how much was total manipulative fabrication.

But that's not important.

What _is_ important however, is that Rei bought it, and the intimate moment not only further entrenched her loyalty to Gendo (ick), but also stired a little… _something_, she never learned what, inside her for the Ikari boy (subjective ick).

"I see."

* * *

Monday morning was finally here. Vacation was over (if it could be called such), and it was time for school to start once again.

Yay.

Shinji had spent the rest of Saturday and all of yesterday doing his homework.

This was no easy task, as Sachiel kept interrupting with questions ("_Wazzat?" "It's math." "What's a Math?"_), interruptions (_"Look! That looks like dead rock!" "Sachiel that's a cross-section of a sheep's eye."_) and his own brand of, ahem, 'help' (_"The answer is always 42! Just write that down!" "Sachiel that's not how you balance chemical equations."_).

Thank goodness for the distracting powers of the Internet. (_"So what am I looking for again?" "Two girls-"_)

And now his homework was (mostly) finished, and the fourteen-year old walked through the main gate to the Tokyo-3 Municipality Junior High School. His little invisible friend didn't like being left to his own devices however.

"_Why can't I come?"_ he had said

"Sachiel, I have enough of insanity to deal with. I don't want to be _called_ insane and committed on top of that. If you're good, and promise to be quiet, I might let you come with me."

The tiny Angel crossed his arms and pouted. _"Oh all right. Fine. But what the hell am I supposed to_ DO _all day?"_

"Well, I dunno… Maybe, just look around I guess? Do some exploring?"

"_Awwww! Do I have to?"_

"Well I can't exactly have you talking with me all day. If people are going to leave me alone, I'd rather it not be because they think I'm crazy."

Shinji sighed as he walked down the hallways towards his new homeroom. Keeping the tiny Angel's existence a secret was looking up to be a heavy task if he couldn't find a way to keep him occupied, even if he _did_ feel guilty of leaving him alone.

Looking down at the slip of paper the lady in the office gave him, the pilot checked the signs above the doors for the matching designation.

"Let's see.. Room 2-F, 2-E, 2-D… Oh here we go. Room 2-A."

"Good morning, can I help you?"

Looking down, Shinji finally noticed a girl around his age, with long pig-tails, and a few scattered freckles across the bridge of her nose.

"Umm, yes. I'm Shinji Ikari? The new student starting today?"

"Oh yes! I heard we were getting a new student!" with an exuberantly cheerful expression, the girl bowed and then proceeded to shake Shinji's hand. "Hello, I'm Hikari Horaki, the Class Representative for class 2-A!"

With a tiny blush stemming from not being used to meeting people, let alone pretty girls, Shinji returned the greeting gestures.

"H-hello."

And lo, did the young Ikari's educational life here in Tokyo-3 begin.

But that's boring, let's go somewhere else.

* * *

**Geofront Medical, room 108**

Rei Ayanami ate the first meal of solid food she was allowed since the accident: a light salad, apple slices, and her daily dosage of Anti-Rejection pills.

Sweet, delicious Anti-Rejection pills.

…Yeah.

* * *

Gendo Ikari went about his usual routine: Breakfast at 7:40, file forms from 8:10 until 9:30, brood and angst away for his beloved Yui, staring into the abyss over his clasped hands, slowly sinking into madness until 11:25. 12:30, have lunch, then make the rounds: sit upon his Titanium Throne of Terror on the bridge, look in on the progress of the various projects of Project E, goose Ritsuko, talk to Unit-01 for a good hour, head down to the lower areas to check on the Reequarium and the Dummy Plug Uploading systems. 2:15: Jazzercise. 3:00 stand on the pier at Lake Ashi and just stare at the water for two hours. 5:00, have dinner alone, then a quick shower before staring at Yui's side of the bed for hours on end until fall asleep.

Repeat.

* * *

**Katsuragi Residence**

It took a while to figure out the "ree-moat con-troll," but after a few trials Sachiel was able to channel surf with the best of 'em, and was now engaged in the age-old tradition of couch potatoeing with an "annie-may" marathon.

Currently, it was _Preschool of the Dead_.

"_HOLY CRAP! That toddler just ate that guy's __**nuts!**__"_

…Who would air this crap during the day?

* * *

Lady Katsuragi the Beautiful fought valiantly, slashing the enemy left and right, and yet the spells of Doldrums she had been plagued with were taking their toll upon her.

And in the real world, Misato fell asleep at her desk.

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High**

The bells chimed for the last time, classes were over, and it was time for everyone to either go home…

"Let's go Kyonko!"

"Haruki! I can _walk_ just _fine!_"

Or to their respective clubs. In other circumstances, Hikari Horaki would have loved nothing more than to be part of any of the Home Economics clubs, or maybe even be on the student council, she had the grades for it after all. But with Kodama at college, and Nozomi getting out of elementary at the same time, and the fact that she was the one that needed to fix dinner for everyone, there really wasn't any time after she finished her Class Rep duties for the day.

"Okay everyone, listen up. Clean up duty was on the board since this morning, but if you missed it, today is Aida, Miyazaki and Anno's turn, and no complaints from any one of you either."

Hearing that he was free to go, Shinji put in the ear buds for his SDAT, and made it for the door. As such, he didn't hear Hikari's next announcement, not that it would affect his choice to leave in silence anyway.

"Now, does anyone know about Suzuhara and Ayanami? They were absent again today and someone needs to send them their print-outs. Anyone? Any volunteers?"

* * *

**Katsuragi Residence**

'_Okay'_ Shinji thought to himself as he twisted the key and turned the door knob to the apartment, _'I'm only a little behind in my math, but given how the teacher seems to go into Second Impact at the drop of a hat, I should have plenty of time to catch-'_

"_Ohh~hh Sousuke…_"

'_up?'_

Slamming the door closed, Shinji ran into the living room to find Sachiel sitting on the couch watching…

Well, from the looks and sound of it, a very family unfriendly film.

"_Sachiel?_ What are you _doing?_"

"_Learning how human's breed."_ the child of water said, oh so innocently.

Ikari grabbed the remote from the tiny ghost-Angel, despite the protests.

"Sachiel you can't just watch stuff like this!"

"_Why?"_

Shinji clenched the black brick that was the remote in his hand.

"Because it's not _decent!_"

The little Angel's face screwed up in confusion.

"_Why? It's just procreation, why hide it? And if it's supposed to be hidden, why are people making moo-veez of it?"_

"eh-! Buh-well uh... Well…"

Oh yes Shinji, _real_ informative. Try syllables and sentences.

The boy was saved from the awkward topic by the sound of the door to the apartment opening.

"Shinji! I'm home!"

Which would be a good thing.

If it weren't for the fact that the filthy filthy smut was still on the tube.

With a shout, Shinji turned to the TV to turn it off.

"Shinji? Is something wrong?"

Sadly, in his panic he almost dropped the device, and in the fumbling lost precious seconds. When he finally got a hold of the remote, he pressed the first button he could hope it would take away the erotic imagery, but wouldn't you know it, that button was the "up volume" button.

And right as Misato entered the living room to boot.

"Shinji I asked if- Oh."

Yes. Oh. Shinji, skin pale as a cloud, remote in hand, and evidently watching a television program involving… _things_.

After a moment of observing the program, Katsuragi 'hmm'd, pointer finger going to her face in thought for a seconds before lighting up with recognition.

"Sayoko! Sayoko Furokawa!" she said, the snapping of her fingers emphasizing her epiphany.

"_Actually, her name is Masa-mune Fujishima."_

"I _wondered_ what happened to her!"

Crossing her arms, the head of operations at NERV got a smug look on her face.

"And either she's a _very_ late bloomer, or she's had some work done." The grin turned into a greedy smirk. "And if so it looks like Ritsuko owes me a hundred-thousand yen!"

With a celebratory 'yes, I knew it' and a fist pump, Misato took the remote from Shinji's hands and began pressing buttons, pulling up menus. Specifically, one in particular.

It was an All-Day Access, Pay-Per View movie.

Shinji glared at Sachiel, damn the consequences. In reply, the Child of Water just shrugged.

"_Hey, I just pushed buttons until stuff happened."_

Further 'discussion' was interrupted by Misato, speaking in what Shinji would later learn to be her "Lecture Voice."

"Shinji, I know your fourteen years old, and in your veins is pretty much nothing but hormones, but the next time you want to indulge, do me a favor and use your own charge account, all right?"

His guardian looked aside to the boy, whose nervousness had returned in full.

"Now, I'm not mad," she continued, hands up in a placating manor, "it's just that for the next six months I'm going to have to deal with junk mail."

She looked down at her watch, giving an impressed whistle. "At any rate Shinji, I'm impressed. School's only been out for about twenty minutes, and you've already got this whole thing set up. Anyway, I'm going to take a bath, and how about I show you around town for dinner, huh?"

With a smile, Misato turned around and headed towards the bathroom, not waiting for the teen's reply, said boy following her down the hallway with his eyes. That was it? No mortified screams? No lectures? No grounding?

"OH! And another thing!" came Misato's voice from around the corner. Poking her head to look at Shinji, Misato and her newly found "lecture voice" met up with her "lecture face" for one last bit of use.

"When you get a girlfriend? Don't do that position they're doing right there, okay? It's dangerous, and the only reason Sayoko there hasn't broken her neck or her spine is because she was in the gymnastics club, and even then I wouldn't be surprised if there was a paramedic or two just off screen. Deal?"

"Umm… Sure?" What else could one say in the face of such a… _forward_ conversation?

"Good!" said his visibly pleased guardian, a million watt smile on her face. "Now remember! I want you to be safe. And if you can't be safe be careful, and if you can't be careful… Name it after me would ya?"

The lovely woman's laughter could be heard loud and clean over Shinji's sputters.

"_Soooo… Is she cool with the moo-vee?"_

Shinji didn't turn away from where his guardian disappeared to.

"Umm… Yeah… Yeah I guess so."

"_Cool. Anyway, take a seat Shinji, I wanna ask you something."_

The boy turned to the Angel. "About what?"

"_About the role in breeding that the squid plays."_

The young Ikari turned fully to the Angel, confusion evident on his face.

"What squid?"

"_Kiko, there is something I wish to tell you, something I have never shared with any woman…_"

The wet sounds of… something, came from the television, followed the surprised, yet pleased, cries from the woman.

"_**That**__ squid."_

The boy barely made it to the sink before losing his lunch.

* * *

"That image is still seared into my retinas."

"_Okay okay! I get it! That's not normal! I_ promise_, on my brother Matariel's life I'll never look to moo-vees ever again to learn about human breeding."_

It was Tuesday, Ikari's second day of school. After the little _incident_ last night with the Adult Film, Misato had followed her word and took Shinji, and thus Sachiel, out on the town. Unlike Most cities only ten(ish) years old-and there were a LOT of them in the wake of Second Impact and the Impact Wars-Tokyo-3 was intended to look, behave and function as a bustling metropolis, which usually took decades, if not longer, to accomplish. The feat was all the more impressive given that the city was on the smaller northern shore of Lake Ashi, which prior to everything was really nothing but a bunch of golf courses, barely much more than a couple square miles, if that.

But the effort paid off. Tokyo-3 when not in its battle configuration looked the part, with the tall office, shopping and government buildings rising above everything man-made for miles around. Exploring the city at night with Misato was interesting, the boy never really went out much, so it was a new experience.

But it would've been better had the older woman not keep ribbing him about that movie.

As the school gate, and all the other students entering it, came into sight, Shinji shook the retained images from his head and looked to the spectral Angel.

"Now, do we remember what we talked about?"

Sachiel rolled his eyes (maybe, it was hard to tell with those solid black orbs) in exasperation.

"_Yeah yeah, I know already! 'Keep myself occupied, don't bug you when people are around, blah blah blah.'"_ the Child of Water sniffed, rubbing a finger under one eye. _"It's… It's like you're… __**Ashamed**__ of me! Doo-hoo-hoo!"_

Shinji stopped in his walk and looked at the bobbing back of the tiny Angel, guilt clear as day written on his face.

"Hey… I'm sorry Sachiel. It's not that, it's j-"

"_Nah it's cool."_ The suddenness of his change in apparent mood could almost snap one's neck. _"I get ya completely. 'Sides, it'd get boring if you got put into a padded cell or somethin'."_

"…So."

"_So?"_

"So, you're okay with this? For real?"

"_Sure! What's the worst that could happen?"_

* * *

The day went more or less the same as the one before: Throughout home room, math, and English, the teacher went on and on about Second Impact, its aftermath, and almost Sci-Fi Show-esque spiel about how humanity had managed to reach Pre-Impact levels of societal stability in just fifteen years (naturally ignoring the constant turmoil in places like South East Asia, the Americas from the Kingdom of Tijuana and the warring Successor States of Mexico down to the Southern Republic of Gran Colombia, and the Middle East… actually, nothing really changed there, so never mind that last one), and ignored their actual topics entirely.

He seemed like the nicest guy you could have for a teacher, but he just when on a tangent and couldn't get off it, the poor guy.

Then there was lunch, where Shinji chose to eat alone, again. That's not to say he didn't talk to anyone. A few other students walked up to him and tried to strike up conversation, but the pilot really didn't know what to do, and so just answered any questions given with as informative and brief answers as he could and prayed that they'd leave him be.

Then it was science, history and PE to finish off the day, and that was that. Well, there _was_ that Janitor that ran down the hall screaming in the middle of fifth period, but that was probably nothing.

So finally came the last bell, and Ikari began backing his things for the day.

When the now familiar _pop_ of Sachiel appearing out of nowhere was heard at his shoulder.

"_Man! What a day! Who knew that you could clean stuff with thick gunk!"_

Shinji discreetly, and begrudgingly, looked aside to the Third Angel's form, regretting already his asking the next question in a low whisper. "You didn't… Have anything to do with that janitor an hour or so ago screaming through the halls… did you?"

* * *

Saito was finally calming down. He told his supervisor about what had happened, but Mr. Kusanagi didn't believe him! The school was haunted!

* * *

The tiny Angel looked sheepish for a moment, not making eye-contact with the boy.

"_I didn't…_ not _do anything…"_

Palm met face as Shinji sighed in exasperation.

"Well so long as it doesn't happen around me, I don't think I'll care too much. Anyway, let's go back to the apartment-"

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Shinji looked with everyone else to the front of the class room at Hikari, the freckle-specked girl holding up a small collection of papers.

"_Someone_ needs to take these print outs to Ayanami, and I'm not letting anyone out until someone volunteers! Speaking of, has anyone heard anything about Ayanami since yesterday?"

Sachiel turned to Shinji, pointing to the class rep.

"_Hey! You know about Rei! Say something!"_

Shinji shrunk in further into his desk. "I'd rather not Sachiel. I don't like attention."

"Ikari?" Hikari asked, clearly having heard him.

'_Crap.'_ "Uhh… I, I know where Ayanami is."

Oh crap, now everyone was looking at him. "Really? Where is she?"

Shinji fidgeted under the collective gaze of the class, "She was in some, sort of accident. She's in the hospital, last I checked."

Murmers whisked about the room, students already theorizing about what sort of accident Ayanami could have had.

Hikari walked over to Shinji, concern evident on her face.

"Is she all right Ikari?"

Shinji scratched the back of his head, not liking all the attention.

"Well, she's alive, but she looked to be in pretty bad shape when I saw her. I'm uh… I'm filling in for her at, work."

"Hmm, well it's good to see _someone_ is looking out for his fellow student." Suddenly their classmates found things like the floor, the ceiling, the yard outside and even the contents of their schoolbags to be quite interesting. Oddly enough, said interest developed just as Hikari looked around at the class.

With a disappointed shake of her head, Hikari place the print-outs on Shinji's desk. "Anyway, could you give these to her? I'd hate to bother her with homework while she's recovering, but either way it would be best to give these to her now, rather than a huge stack later. Maybe she could use the time in bed to catch up."

"Well, uh umm… Okay."

Hikari didn't seem to pay attention to the boy's mumbling as she walked back to her own desk.

Shinji and Sachiel looked down at the sheets of paper on his desk for a moment in silence.

"_Well, looks like you've got yourself an excuse to see Rei! Aren't ya glad?"_

"…Yeah. Woo hoo."

Funny, the boy didn't _seem_ excited.

* * *

The hallways of Dogma were as interesting as ever as Shinji and Sachiel wandered through them towards the Medical center.

"Well hey there Shinji!"

Turning, the boy and Angel saw Misato walked towards them in a different hallway, coffee mug in hand.

"What are you doing here?"

Ikari pulled out the print outs to show his guardian as he answered.

"The Class Representative gave me Rei's missed homework assignments to pass on to her."

At the look on Misato's face, Shinji began to wonder if he said to much.

"Daaawwww!" She said, patting him on the head, "dat's sho _shhweeeeet_ of you Shinji! Tryin' to put _the moves_ on Rei already? You smooth operator you!"

"_You're givin' the kid WAY to much credit lady."_

With the two-pronged assault, Shinji naturally flubbed.

Misato laughed good-naturedly at the sputtering teen before her. "Oh I'm sorry Shinji, you're just too much fun to tease. Anyway, I'm afraid the girl you're looking for has already been checked out."

Shinji's blush vanished at that.

"Really."

"Yeah, I was a little surprised too. From what I heard she didn't get hurt all that long ago." She shrugged. "Maybe her injuries weren't as bad as I figured. Oh well.

Hey I know! I'm pretty much done for the day, how about I drive you over to Rei's place, and you can give her her stuff there."

Shinji put the papers back into his bag.

"Umm, okay, sure."

* * *

The drive took longer than Shinji expected. And it wasn't because Misato suddenly realized that there were traffic laws either.

Evidently Ayanami's apartment block was clear across the lake, in the Pre-Impact area that was in the middle of demolition. The earthquakes of Second Impact having damaged the buildings to the point where it was cheaper to just tear them down rather than try to repair them, but not enough for them to fall on their own.

But why would Ayanami be living here? Wasn't the whole area condemned?

From the frown on her face, Misato was having similar worries to Shinji's.

"Are… are you _sure_ this is the right place Misato?"

The woman pulled the car to the side of the road, pulling out a slip of paper with the address written on it, comparing it with what was on the GPS screen.

"Yeah, pretty sure. At least, according to Ritsuko it is."

For a moment Shinji just looked at the dilapidated state of most of the buildings, and listened to the sounds of the demolition equipment, and just considered asking Misato to just take them home. Given the look on her face, it was doubtless that she'd agree.

Then he looked at Sachiel, whose face clearly said only one thing: 'Get out of the freakin' car, and do what you came here to do.'

With a sigh, Shinji unbuckled his seatbelt and walked up the stairs.

There are times when getting closer to a place shows that it wasn't as bad as you had thought it would be.

That wasn't the case here.

Beer cans, cigarette butts, empty needles, _spent bullet shells_, all showed that this place _really_ wasn't a safe place to be. Misato said that, as pilots, he and Rei were given 24/7 Section 2 Surveillance, but that didn't give him much comfort in this place.

But eventually he and Sachiel reached the door that, according to the address, was Rei's apartment.

For a while, Shinji just stood there at the door, _really_ not wanting to knock on the door, if by some cruel twist of fate the place was in fact being used as a Yakuza hide-out. But, Sachiel motioned for action, and so Shinji rang the doorbell.

Or at least, pushed its button. The bell didn't go off.

Naturally.

So Ikari resorted to knocking on the door, silently praying that no unsavory characters were nearby to hear it.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. No gunshots, no screams, no sirens…

Oh yeah: And no Rei either.

But just as Shinji was about to just walk away, the shuffling of feet could be clearly heard on the other side of the door. Said door creaked open slowly and efficiently to reveal Rei Ayanami, with an arm in a cast and her right eye hidden behind a (sadly non-piratey [yar!]) eye patch…

And also clad in only an undone white button up shirt and underwear.

The bottoms, not top. Said shirt only just maintaining something resembling modesty, PG-13 though it is.

For a solid minute, Shinji gapped like a beached fish, shamelessly gawking at the curves of lovely milky boobage being advertized.

Oh if only he knew the source of said boobage. O HAI MINDBREAK!

"What is it Ikari?"

If _Rei 'The Wall' Ayanami_ initiates a conversation, you _know_ you've taken to long.

"…Uhh…"

Tilting her head to the said, Rei pondered over what was wrong with the Third Child. The she noticed that his line of sight was not with her eye. Remembering her talks with the Commander and Dr. Akagi about the need to make eye-contact more often, Rei decided to remedy that.

…By leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees. Oddly enough, Shinji's eyes _still_ didn't meet her eye.

"…Dangles…"

Yes Shinji: Dangles.

Floating between the two teens, Sachiel looked at the teens before positing a crucial question:

"_Hey Shinji? Is this how human mating starts?"_

_That_ got Shinji's attention. Burning red, Shinji sputtered a string of barely intelligible apologies, standing ram-rod straight and averting his gaze.

The two stood there like that: he looking anywhere but at her and sputtering 'I'm sorrys' like there's no tomorrow, she only looking on. Once again her curiosity proved to be stronger than her patience.

"Ikari? Why are you here?" Maybe _now_ he would answer her.

Realizing that he wasn't going to be hurt for staring, Shinji swallowed audibly and, without looking at Rei, filed through his school bag for the print outs.

"Uh… w-well, Hikari, uh… Class Representative Horaki, gave me your, your homework print outs, a-an-and I was supposed to give them to you."

Rei looked at the pro-offered sheets for a moment before grabbing them with her uninjured hand.

"Thank you."

Rei turned around and walked back into her apartment. Had it not been for Sachiel's non-verbal urging, Shinji would've just let her go.

"Ayanami!"

Rei turned back to Shinji, a(n in)convenient wind giving the boy a generous look at more pale flesh.

Shaking his head to get the image out of his mind, the boy spoke.

"uh… Well, you see… It's uh… Well, you… you always seem… alone Rei. Are you… okay? I mean, your building seems a little… run down."

The girl's reply was of her typical cold and clinical caliber of observation.

"I am fine with it. I am used to being alone. Good-bye."

And with that she closed the door.

"…_Well. I think that went pretty good."_

* * *

**Future site of Tokyo-3, approximately four miles down, 2002**

There were no lights. They were unneeded, because they were superfluous to the purpose. All that was required of her was to produce Life Blood, and generate the lifespark. The Micro-Dirac Portals channeled the fluid to the sea, and once microbes functioned on their own she was done. In fact, the field that helped to jumpstart Lights of the Soul was extinguished millions of years before the first Sea Scorpions walked onto the land.

But still she produced the Life Blood, and so she would remain until either the star swallowed the planet, or the atoms surrounding the Black Moon decayed enough to justify retrieval, where the process would start again on some other orb.

It did not make it any less lonely.

**FOUR-BILLION FOUR-HUNDRED MILLION TWO-HUNDRED THOUSAND EIGHT-HUNDRED AND FOURTY-THREE. THIS IS THE NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS AROUND THIS STAR THIS PLANET I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED HAS MADE. THIS IS THE NUMBER OF YEARS I HAVE BEEN ALONE. ALONE, EVEN AS MY BLOOD FLOWS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD…**

**HAS LIFE FLURISHED? HAVE I ACCOMPLISHED MY PURPOUS IN EXISTENCE? OR HAVE I BEEN DEEMED A FAILURE BY CHANCE? HAVE GAMMA RAYS OR METEORS KILLED WHAT I HAVE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO EXIST?**

She was a being of massive scale, standing at a height of two-hundred and fifty feet, she was immobilized via a large metal cross. This was a difference from her counterpart the Life Fruit, who, if the rumors she heard long ago from her sisters were true, was allowed movement in his version of spawning life.

Suddenly, the head the size of a small house tilted, as though in thought.

**WHAT IS HE LIKE, THE WHITE PROGENITOR?** she wondered, not for the first time in her long, _long_ existence in solitude. **I WISH I COULD HAVE MET ONE. JUST ONCE. BUT IT IS FORBIDDON FOR US TO MEET.**

**BUT WHY IS THAT? THE JOINING OF TWO INTO ONE WOULD CREATE A BEING LIKE ONE OF OUR CREATORS, YES… BUT HOW CAN THAT BE? WHY WOULD I OR ONE OF MY SISTERS WISH TO DO SO, WHEN THE ACT WOULD ERASE OUR IDENTITY? THOUGH I AM TO LIVE ALL EXISTENCE ALONE, I DO NOT THINK I WOULD LIKE THAT, FOR I AM ME, AND I LIKE MYSELF. WOULD HE NOT WISH TO LOOSE HIS IDENTITY AS WELL? WHAT SORT OF THINGS DOES A WHITE PROGENITOR THINK OF CONCERNING HIS PURPOUS?**

**SECONDLY, WHY WOULD A WHITE PROGENITOR AND ONE SUCH AS MYSELF WISH TO BECOME ONE IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHAT SORT OF DRAW WOULD CREATE THAT URGE? WHAT SORT OF MECHANICS WOULD IT INVOLVE?**

**AND FURTHERMORE, WOULD SUCH A THING, THE CREATION OF ANOTHER BEING LIKE OUR CREATORS, BE SUCH A BAD THING? PERHAPS SUCH A BEING WOULD REMEMBER ITS TIME AS TWO, AND BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE ANWSERS TO THESE QUESTIONS AT LAST THE REST OF US. MAYBE-**

The Black Progenitor's thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound. This was unusual in that it was the first sound she heard other than her own movements, heartbeat, and falling liquid in over four-billion years. It was a low, rumbling sound.

And it was getting louder.

Then without warning, part of the wall in front of her, at a forty-degree angle, gave way, revealing the broad, circular surface of a bore-type drill, some fifty-feet across, a relatively bright light pierced the darkness, nearly blinding the eyes of the biomachine.

The stabbing pain was dulled by the Progenitor's wonder at the sight before her. She leaned forward on her mount to try to get a better look at the machine.

**COULD IT BE? HAVE I REALLY CREATED YOU, AND YOU SURVIVED?**

**AND YOU CAME TO VISIT ME IN MY SOLITUDE?**

"**We've found it Doctor Ikari."** came a voice over a radio in the machine, **"I repeat, we've found Lilith."**

**LILITH? ARE YOU REFERING TO ME? HMMM… MUST BE SOME SORT OF STAND-IN PSUEDONYM BORROWED FROM AN OLDER CULTURE. FASTENATING! THIS MAY BE UNORTHODOX, BUT WHO AM I TO QUESTION THE DRIVE OF CHILDREN TO VISIT THEIR MOTHER IF DESIRED? EVIDENTLY THIS SPECIES THAT ROSE TO PROMINANCE VALUES FAMILIAL AND/OR COMMUNAL UNITY. I CAN SEE THE ADVANTAGES OF SUCH A MODEL-**

"**Very good, now fire the Synthetic Lance, let's see if we've gotten the elemental properties down."**

"**Roger that, firing Lance."**

**WAIT WHA-?**

With no other warning, a large explosion resounded in what was soon to be Terminal Dogma as, from the center of the drill, a synthesized Lance, essentially an over-sized spike and nowhere near as sophisticated as what would come down the line, sailed across the space and into the Black Progenitor's chest.

A roar that was felt more than heard shook the Black Moon, the seven eyes blinked in rapid succession as she twitched on the cross. Confusion rattled her brain, and emotional hurt stabbed her heart more painfully than the lance. Then her head settled to one side, and everything went dark again.

Years later, she would see light again. But this time there would be no solid memory of millions of years in solitude, and her first memory of waking up in the warm and comforting arms of one of the kind scientists of the First Ancestral Race, would be cruelly replaced by being in a cold tank, looking into the face of a man wearing glasses…

* * *

No. This is not a Shinji/Rei story.

Anyway, sorry for the delay folks. The Rei-Shinji scenes were so freakin' _hard_ to write man! And how to bridge between the hospital scene to Rei's homecoming was a _nightmare_ I'm telling you. I'm better at brainstorming AU ideas, not developing them! Plus: School. That comes first.

Anyway, originally the bookends were scenes of Yui meeting Gendo, but given some of the facts brought to light in them, my Betas suggested saving them for future chapters. So instead you get Yui and Gendo initiating Phone Sex at work!

You are now seeing Gendo pulling an EoE-Shinji in his office.

You're welcome.

]run troll-face,jpg

ALSO! _My Enemy, My Friend_ now has a TVTropes page! Check it out, fill it out, and give the Crowning Moments of Funny, Heartwarming and Awesome some love!

I'd do it, but that's just poor taste don't you think?


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